


Child's Play

by Inkandquills, writersstudy



Series: Roleplay Fics [6]
Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Adoption, M/M, Mentions of Death, Mentions of car accident, Mentions of homelessness, Smut, cemetery scene that could be triggering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-10-10 00:49:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 58,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20519243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkandquills/pseuds/Inkandquills, https://archiveofourown.org/users/writersstudy/pseuds/writersstudy
Summary: It's been three years, but Jinwoo still hasn't learned how to let things go.[[PLEASE NOTE THAT WE, THE AUTHORS, HAVE NOT GIVEN PERMISSION FOR THIS WORK TO BE RE-POSTED ANYWHERE EXCEPT DIRECTLY ON AO3. IF YOU SEE THIS WORK ANYWHERE ELSE, PLEASE REPORT IT FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT AND NOTIFY US AT LIVING.LENIENTLY@GMAIL.COM. THANK YOU.]]





	Child's Play

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Inkandquills](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkandquills/gifts).

> It's finally here! The long awaited sequel to Baby Steps.
> 
> To be honest, we've had this sitting in our editing pile for a couple of months now, but Michelle requested that we post it for her birthday, so here I am, three days late.
> 
> Oh yeah! She's 21! Go wish her a happy birthday! 
> 
> Side note: there are two smut scenes in this story, one near the beginning, and one near the end. They are vanilla.

Moonbin woke up to the strong sun streaming through the window bright and early. He loved waking up without an alarm on the weekends. And the only thing he loved more than that was waking up with Jinwoo wrapped in his arms.

Jinwoo stirred when Moonbin’s arms tightened around his middle. “Morning,” he said, voice rough, “how’d you sleep?”

Moonbin smiled. “Good,” he replied, “but I always sleep good when I’m next to you.” It was true. The business trips he had gone on were always rough nights. 

Jinwoo rolled his eyes. “Cheesy,” he complained. He stretched, hearing a few pops from his back. His eye cracked open when he heard the bedroom door creak open and hushed whispers. “You can come in, boys,” he said. 

Moonbin let go of Jinwoo so he could roll over and help Sanha and Seongwoo onto the bed. Both boys crawled over him and tackled their uncle in a big hug. 

Jinwoo grunted as both boys landed on top of him. “What are you two doing up this early?” he asked.

“It’s sunny! We want to play outside,” Sanha said. Next to him Seongwoo nodded eagerly. The younger boy was all too happy with what his brother had said. 

“But it’s so early,” Jinwoo said, “maybe Binnie will make you breakfast if you ask nicely enough.”

“But I’m not hungry,” Sanha whined. Seongwoo glanced up at his brother and immediately mimicked his pout. 

“Sanha, it’s too early to go to the park,” Jinwoo said firmly, “You guys are welcome to stay in here with me and Binnie though.”

“Can we go later?” Sanha asked hopefully. “Wanna play!” Seongwoo piped up from his spot between Jinwoo and Moonbin. 

“Yes, we can go later,” Jinwoo said, “I can even see if Minhyuk and Uncle Myungjun want to come with us.”

Sanha perked up at that. “Can we ask now?” he asked, already reaching for Jinwoo’s phone on the nightstand. 

Jinwoo glanced at his watch. “They’re probably still asleep,” he said, knowing Myungjun had been pulling late nights after one of the factories he represented had gone on strike, “we can call in a little bit, okay?”

“Okay,” Sanha agreed reluctantly. He took that opportunity to stretch out on top of his uncle and make himself comfortable. Seongwoo pouted more when he realized he wouldn’t be able to fit next to Jinwoo. “Me too,” he whined. 

“Sanha, give Seongwoo some space,” Jinwoo chided. He nudged Moonbin to move over and rolled to face him so there like be space for both boys there. 

“He can have Binnie,” Sanha said, not making an effort to move. “No, I want Jinsam too,” Seongwoo whined, louder this time. Moonbin moved out of the way, giving all of the boys plenty of space. He wasn’t upset Seongwoo didn’t want to cuddle with him. The younger boy only ever wanted to do what Sanha was doing. 

“Sanha, you know you have to share,” Jinwoo reprimanded gently. He glanced at Moonbin, hoping for some help.

“Sanha, if you lay on one side of Jinsam, Seongwoo can lay on the other and you can both share him,” Moonbin said. Sanha reluctantly moved off of his uncle and cuddled into his side instead. Meanwhile, Seongwoo crawled across the bed and settled on Jinwoo’s other side. 

Jinwoo wrapped his arms around both of his boys. He loved mornings like this, where he could just lay in bed with his family. It was amazing how much the boys had grown up. 

Moonbin smiled fondly and reached a hand out to comb it through Seongwoo’s hair. He was so grateful he had been able to watch the boys grow over the past few years. They had gotten so big so fast and while he wouldn’t change anything for the world, he sometimes wished he could freeze time to enjoy them while they’re younger just a little bit longer.

They all laid in bed a little bit longer before Jinwoo forced the boys to get up and dressed so Moonbin could make breakfast. He texted Myungjun while he was brushing his teeth and they made plans to meet at the park for noon. 

Even from all the way in the kitchen, Moonbin could hear Sanha’s excited “whoop,” which he presumed meant Jinwoo had made plans for them to go to the park. Seongwoo’s quieter yell of excitement floated down the hallway not much later. The boys were pretty occupied with Jinwoo and Moonbin had to call for them when breakfast was ready. 

“But you have to eat all of your breakfast or we’re not going anywhere,” Jinwoo said as they all sat down at the table. Sanha had become quite the picky eater lately. 

Sanha pouted as he climbed into his seat at the table. He poked at the pancakes on his plate for a moment before reluctantly beginning to eat. When most of the pancake was gone, he pushed the plate into the middle of the table. “I’m full,” he announced. 

“Sanha, I said all,” Jinwoo said, knowing that the boy could easily eat a stack of these if he weren’t insistent on being difficult. 

“But I’m full,” Sanha insisted. “If you don’t like them I can make you something else,” Moonbin said. Sanha shook his head adamantly. 

“Baby, I know you can eat more,” Jinwoo said, “what’s wrong? Why don’t you like them?”

“I’m not hungry,” Sanha said again, louder this time, “I wanna go play.” Seongwoo, for once, wasn’t copying Sanha, and continued to munch happily on his breakfast. 

“I told you we can’t play until you finish your breakfast,” Jinwoo said, “we aren’t leaving for a while anyway so you might as well eat. We aren’t going any faster just because you want to be picky.”

Sanha frowned and crossed his arms. “I’m not picky,” he said firmly. Moonbin sighed. It seemed that no matter what they did, the boy almost always refused to eat his whole plate. 

“Alright, you can stay with Binnie while I take Seongwoo to play with Minhyuk,” Jinwoo said airily. 

“No!” Sanha yelled, slamming his fists on the table, “I wanna go play!” Seongwoo jumped at the noise and whimpered quietly. 

“Yoon Sanha,” Jinwoo said sharply, “if you don’t finish your breakfast, you’re staying here and that’s final.”

Sanha didn’t argue anymore. He ate the rest of the first pancake and pushed his plate away again. Wordlessly, he climbed down from his chair and went to play in his room.

Jinwoo sighed and cleaned up Sanha’s plate. He wished it didn’t take so much fighting to get Sanha to eat. Maybe he should take the boy to a doctor, but it was so expensive and he really just thought the boy was being difficult. 

When Seongwoo was done eating, Moonbin helped clean him up and then released him to go play with his brother. “Do you want me to try to talk to Sanha?” he offered.

“You can try, but good luck,” Jinwoo said, “kids are brats, I don’t know what else it could be. It isn’t like he’s getting sick.”

Moonbin nodded. “I’ll talk to him before we leave,” he said. He didn’t like to challenge Jinwoo when it came to the boys, but he wanted to help out as much as he could. And that included trying to figure out why Sanha wasn’t eating. 

“Our insurance rolls over next month,” Jinwoo said, “if he hasn’t changed his behavior by then, I’ll take him to a doctor.”

“Are you sure about waiting that long?” Moonbin asked cautiously, “I don’t mind taking him earlier if he gets any worse.” He didn’t want to upset Jinwoo, but he was worried about Sanha. 

“His mother was a picky eater when she was a kid too,” Jinwoo said, “I’m sure he’s completely fine.”

“Alright,” Moonbin said with a nod, “I’m sure he’ll be hungry after he runs around with Minhyuk for a couple of hours.”

“I certainly hope so,” Jinwoo said, “can you go make sure they’re getting changed?”

“Yeah, sure,” Moonbin said. He finished washing the last dish before going to check on the boys. “How are we supposed to go to the park if you two aren’t even dressed yet?” he asked when he stepped into the bedroom. Seongwoo looked up at him with big eyes while Sanha made a beeline for his dresser. 

Jinwoo dried the dishes and put them away before going to get changed himself. He would have to leave the boys at the park with Moonbin and head to work in a little while, so he just changed straight into his uniform.

Moonbin got both boys changed and left them in the room to play together for a little longer before they left. In the meantime, he went to find Jinwoo. “You should use one of your vacation days next weekend if its nice and we could take the boys to the beach for the day,” he suggested. 

“You know how I feel about using vacation days,” Jinwoo said. He tried to save his paid time off for when he or the boys got sick so he wouldn’t lose any income.

“I know, I know, but you haven’t taken a day off in a while so you deserve a break,” Moonbin said, “I can take a day off during the week instead. The beach would probably be a lot quieter anyway.”

“My day off this week is Thursday,” Jinwoo said, “if you can get that off, we can go to the beach.”

“I’ll talk to my boss first thing on Monday,” Moonbin said. He dropped the subject after that. It wasn’t worth making Jinwoo upset, especially because they would be leaving soon. 

Soon enough, they got the boys all packed up and in the car to go to the park. It really was very nice out and Jinwoo was glad that the boys were able to actually get outside and play. 

Sanha played with Seongwoo until Myungjun arrived with Minhyuk. Sanha immediately ran off with his friend and Seongwoo wasn’t able to keep up with the older boys. Moonbin stood up from his spot on the bench and went to push the younger boy on the swings, giving Jinwoo and Myungjun time to talk. 

Jinwoo was keeping a careful eye on his watch. He knew he needed to catch the bus at a certain time to get to work for his shift, so he was really only half listening to Myungjun. “Is Minhyuk excited to go back to school?” he asked. 

Moonbin continued to push Seongwoo back and forth and smiled every time the boy giggled. He felt bad that he couldn’t keep up with Sanha and Minhyuk, but he would make friends his own age soon that he could play with. 

“Yeah, he keeps asking me to take him to buy new supplies,” Myungjun said, “what about you? Have you figured out where you’re sending Sanha yet?” Jinwoo shook his head. “Everything that’s close by is way too expensive but we don’t qualify for scholarships because of Bin’s income.”

“Slide?” Seongwoo asked, pointing to where several kids were climbing up and sliding back down the two biggest slides on the other side of the playground. “Sure, we can slide,” Moonbin agreed, “but we’re gonna go to the one that’s less busy so you don’t get hurt.” He lifted the boy out of the swing and set him on the ground. He was not at all surprised when the boy took off for the bigger slides. 

Myungjun hummed. He didn’t have enough sway in Minhyuk’s school to help his friend out and he knew Jinwoo wouldn’t take any assistance anyway. “I’m sure you’ll find something soon,” he said reassuringly. Jinwoo sighed. “I hope so,” he said.

Moonbin managed to convince Seongwoo to play on the smaller slide with the promise that he would have more turns on it. Luckily the boy agreed and played on the smaller slide while Moonbin stood at the bottom and watched. 

Jinwoo got up and wandered over to Moonbin. “I’m gonna head off to work,” he said, “I’ll see you guys later, okay?”

Moonbin leaned down and kissed Jinwoo’s cheek. “Be careful and we’ll see you tonight,” he said, “Seongwoo, come say goodbye to Jinsam.” The boy slid down the slide again and ran over to give his uncle a big hug. 

Jinwoo hugged Seongwoo tightly then made sure to say goodbye to Sanha before he headed to the bus stop. He still worked at the convenience store as the second shift manager, which meant he was gone in the evenings through bedtime, but still had most of the day with his kiddos. 

When Seongwoo was done with the slide, he made a beeline for the sandbox. It was right next to the bench, which gave Moonbin a chance to sit down and talk to Myungjun for a few minutes. 

Jinwoo’s ride to the store was way too short and he could tell already that his shift was going to suck. Hopefully, his boys had a better day.

It was nice to talk to Myungjun while the boys played. Seongwoo wandered over on his own when he got tired and the older boys followed not long after. They all said their goodbyes and made the trek back to the apartment. Thankfully, Sanha ate his entire dinner without complaint. Maybe this morning was just a fluke because he wanted to play. Moonbin had the bedtime routine down to a science. After dinner the boys would both get baths and get changed. Then they could watch two shows on TV. He would read to Seongwoo before putting the boy to bed and play with Sanha for a little bit longer before doing the same thing with the older boy. It worked like a charm each time. 

Jinwoo got home just as Moonbin was getting Sanha into bed. He stopped in to wish the sleepy boy a good night then went to change himself. “How were they tonight?” he asked. 

“They were perfect as always,” Moonbin said, “Sanha ate dinner fine so we’ll see what happens with breakfast tomorrow.”

“Good, hopefully this means he’s over it,” Jinwoo said, “I think we should save the beach for next week though. I want to use this week to work on finding him a school.”

“We can do that,” Moonbin said, “I can still ask to get Thursday off if you want.”

“No, it’s alright, I’ll just send Seongwoo to the community center and take Sanha around with me,” Jinwoo said.

Moonbin sighed. “It’s really not that big of a deal, but whatever is easiest for you,” he said. 

“I don’t want you to miss a day of work for something like that,” Jinwoo said, “especially if you’ll be taking off again next week to go to the beach.”

“I have the time and I like spending the day with all of you, especially when it’s warm out,” Moonbin said, “and I don’t mind helping you look for a school for Sanha so you don’t get overwhelmed.”

“I’d rather you be here to get Seongwoo at the end of the day,” Jinwoo said, “Sanha and I are gonna have to go pretty far out of the way and I don’t know what time we’ll get back.”

Moonbin furrowed his eyebrows. “Why do you have to go so far? Aren’t we going to see if he likes the school Minhyuk goes to?” he asked.

Jinwoo snorted. “I can’t afford the school Minhyuk goes to,” he said, “everything in our budget is back over where we used to live.”

“Jinwoo, we can afford to send Sanha to Minhyuk’s school. We can afford to send him to any school around here,” Moonbin said gently.

“You can, maybe, but I can’t,” Jinwoo said, “and you know how I feel about you paying for things like this.”

“I know, I know, but we’ve been together long enough that I think I can start helping you out with stuff like this,” Moonbin said, “I don’t want to step on toes, but this is for Sanha.”

“No, Moonbin,” Jinwoo said. It was exactly because it was for Sanha that he wasn’t going to budge on this.

“Why? If Sanha doesn’t like the school that’s one thing, but he would be so much happier going to school with Minhyuk. He would probably do better too. And if he’s closer it would be so much easier to get him there and pick him up and he wouldn’t have to wake up at an ungodly hour,” Moonbin said.

“This just isn’t something I can let myself depend on you for,” Jinwoo said, “not when it’s Sanha’s future at stake.”

“I could transfer the money for his first few years to you right now. That way if something happens you won’t be stuck. But nothing’s gonna happen. I’ve promised you time and time again that I’m gonna be here for you and I mean that. And I think I’ve proved it over these past few years,” Moonbin said. 

“I’m not having this conversation with you right now,” Jinwoo said firmly, “Sanha and I will go visit some places on Thursday.”

“No, we are having this conversation right now because I’m not gonna let you continue to hurt the boys because you don’t trust me,” Moonbin said, “I gave you your space, I’ve given you time, I’ve kept all my promises, but you still act like we just started dating.”

“The boys are fine,” Jinwoo said, “I just need to be able to support them on my own, that’s all.”

“What’s the point of us staying together then if you won’t let me help you? That’s what a relationship is, supporting each other,” Moonbin said, “and what happens when you’re able to support them on your own?”

“A relationship shouldn’t be predicated on financial stability,” Jinwoo said, “and ours isn’t. I’m not with you because of your money, Bin, or because you make it easier for me to take care of the boys; I’m with you because I love you.”

“I know you’re not, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help you. I get that you wouldn’t want me to help like this in the beginning and that moving in together was a big step, but it’s been three whole years. I think you can let go of some things and let me help you and the boys,” Moonbin said, “it hurts that after everything you still don’t trust me.”

“Look, you know how I get about money, alright?” Jinwoo said, “it isn’t about not trusting you. I just have to be careful.”

“No, it is about not trusting me. Because if you trusted me not to leave you high and dry, you’d let me pay for Sanha to go to school, you’d let me spoil the boys with day trips and new toys, and you’d let me send you to cooking school. But you still don’t trust me not to flake and you’re still trying to support yourself on your own,” Moonbin said.

“Moonbin, you just don’t get it,” Jinwoo said, “I love you, but you’ve never been financially unstable a day in your life and you’re just never going to be able to understand the anxiety I feel about money. I’ve been fucked over before and I’m not taking those risks again.”

“You won’t even help me understand. I know it’s hard to talk about, but I’m here to help you. I just hate seeing you so stressed and making your and the boys’ lives harder just because of money,” Moonbin said, “and I don’t need to know exactly what happened, but you’d think after this many years you would have figured out that I’m not like the asshole who hurt you.”

“Why can’t you just trust me to figure this out for myself and the boys?” Jinwoo asked, “I don’t know what things could happen that would make you turn tail and run. We’ve only been together for three years, Bin, that’s barely anything.”

“Because you’re willing to make your and Sanha’s lives more miserable. Your issues should  _ not  _ impact Sanha or Seongwoo and yet they are. I haven’t pushed for paying for anything for you, but I’m gonna fight to help the boys. While they’re under my roof, they’re also my responsibility,” Moonbin said, “and really? Three years is nothing? So how long does this need to last before it’s legit to you?”

“It isn’t that it isn’t legit to me,” Jinwoo said, “I just know that it could still end at any point. I told myself I was never gonna let myself be financially dependent on anyone ever again and I intend to stick to that.”

Moonbin shook his head. “I can’t do this. I can’t keep walking on eggshells wondering if you’re gonna get pissed at me because I bought Sanha a new shirt after he ruined one playing outside. You need to figure something out because if either of the boys get hurt I swear to God, Jinwoo, I will break every promise I made to you and take care of them properly,” he said, starting to get frustrated now.

“Fuckin’ leave then,” Jinwoo said, “if you can’t understand the limitations I have and why I’m raising my boys the way I am, then leave. Walk away.”

Moonbin stared at Jinwoo. “You don’t love me,” he said simply, “you wouldn’t be content to lose me if you did. While Sanha and Seongwoo are under my roof, I won’t let them get hurt. And if you’re so willing to take them away from me, I’m going to spoil them while I still have the chance.”

“You don’t understand, Moonbin!” Jinwoo cried, “if, god forbid, something were to happen to you or to our relationship, I  _ need  _ to know that I’m going to be able to take care of my boys on my own. If I let you pay for Sanha’s school and something happens, then I’m fucked, Bin. I’m sorry, but my sons are my always going to be my first priority.”

“I told you I would give you the money so that if someone happens you wouldn’t have to worry, but you refused that too. I don’t know what to do anymore. You need help, Jinwoo, and you need to find someone you’re willing to let help you. Those boys are going to get hurt if you keep this up,” Moonbin said. 

“My boys are  _ fine _ ,” Jinwoo said forcefully, “I am doing the best I can for them short of letting their well-being and their futures become dependent on the presence of someone else. I will  _ not  _ let them go through what I did, Bin.”

Moonbin sighed sadly. “Why have you stayed? We’re getting nothing out of this other than someone to sleep next to. I gave you your time and I thought by now we would be in a better spot, but it feels like we just started dating yesterday. I don’t know, Jinwoo, I just don’t know,” he said, “come talk to me when you need me.” With that he disappeared down the hallway to his bedroom.

Jinwoo followed Moonbin, not wanting to leave the conversation just at that. “I told you already. I’m not in this for your money or your privilege or whatever else,” he said, “I’m in this for you and how happy you make me and the boys.”

“I know. And I’m glad you’re happy, but I’m not. But we’re not both going to be happy with it so I guess we’ll keep things as the status quo and I’ll keep my mouth shut like I have been,” Moonbin said flatly. 

Jinwoo sat down on the bed next to Moonbin with a sigh. “I wouldn’t be so afraid of it happening if it hadn’t happened before,” he said softly, “you know that, right?”

“I know, Jinwoo, but I can’t be a very good boyfriend if I haven’t been able to prove to you I’m not going anywhere. None of this matters though. I’m letting it go and I’m never gonna bring this up again,” Moonbin said.

“I put my trust in someone before for  _ years  _ and he completely screwed me over at one of the hardest points in my life,” Jinwoo said, “it has nothing to do with whether or not you’re a good boyfriend, it’s just me and my own issues. If it was just me, I would take the risk, I swear I would, but I can’t do that with the boys. I  _ cannot  _ put them in a position to get hurt so badly, even if it means that they have to have a little less to begin with.”

“Whatever you want to do, Jinwoo. It doesn’t matter to me,” Moonbin said quietly. He stood up from the bed and went to the dresser to grab clean clothes.

Jinwoo felt horrible. Did Moonbin think he didn’t know the boys were suffering? He knew he would be keeping Sanha from a better education. He knew that keeping clothes and shoes until they wore out instead of no longer fit wasn’t good for the boys. Moonbin would simply never understand the way that poverty can traumatize a person and Jinwoo wished he had a way to make him realize without going into the entire sob story.

Moonbin didn’t talk to Jinwoo for the rest of the night. He didn’t have the heart to. He simply took a shower and went to bed, not even bothering to get up early the following morning to make the boys breakfast like he usually would.

Jinwoo got really tired of the silent treatment really fast. He got home from work the next night to dinner in the microwave, both boys in bed, and Moonbin still ignoring him. It was just fantastic. 

Moonbin didn’t know what to do other than continue to live his life as normally as possible. It wasn’t like he was really missing anything; he and Jinwoo barely had time to just talk and the older man wasn’t very physically affectionate to being with. He spent his Sunday night reading in bed.

After he ate, Jinwoo laid down on the couch. He had a pounding headache and didn’t have the energy to deal with Moonbin right now. Only three more days of work, then the real headache began. He was dreading all of it.

Moonbin wished he could say he was surprised Jinwoo didn’t come in but he wasn’t. His boyfriend was probably gonna spend who knows how long sleeping on the couch. In all honesty, Moonbin knew he made everything a lot worse, but he still wasn’t sure if he was upset about it or not. 

Jinwoo dozed off on the couch but woke up when he heard one of the boys start crying. He rolled off the couch and padded down the hall to their room. “What’s wrong, kiddo?” he asked softly, picking Seongwoo up off his bed and settling him in his hip. “Nightmare,” the boy whimpered. 

Moonbin jumped awake when one of the boys started crying. He heard footsteps and knew Jinwoo was already headed to the bedroom. With a sigh, he rolled out of bed to make sure everything was okay anyway. 

“Oh, baby, it’s okay, you’re safe,” Jinwoo murmured, rubbing Seongwoo’s back as the boy cling to him. When Moonbin entered the room, Seongwoo reached for him with a whimper. 

Moonbin’s eyes widened when Seongwoo reached for him. “What happened?” he asked nervously. He walked across the room, casting an uncertain glance at Jinwoo.

“He had a nightmare,” Jinwoo said. He passed Seongwoo off to Moonbin and watched as the toddler clung to him tightly. “Don’t leave, Binnie,” Seongwoo whimpered. By now, Sanha was awake and worried about his brother, so Jinwoo turned his attention to making sure the older boy didn’t get upset.

“I won’t, baby, I won’t,” Moonbin promised. He pressed a kiss to Seongwoo’s hair and turned all of his attention to him. “Do you want to tell me what happened? Or do you just want to go back to sleep in my bed?” 

“Jinsam made you leave,” Seongwoo whimpered, trying his best not to cry. “Jinsam would never do that!” Sanha spoke up.

Moonbin’s chest tightened. “I’m so sorry you got scared, baby,” he said sincerely, “but it’s all over now and I’m right here.” He felt so guilty. Their argument had so clearly affected the boys too, even though he vowed never to hurt them.

“Binnie’s not going anywhere, baby, I promise,” Jinwoo said, “we’re all staying right here.”

That was reassuring, but he still wasn’t entirely sure Jinwoo wouldn’t pack up on him one day and take the boys with him. “Why don’t you and Sanha stay with Jinsam in the big bed for the rest of the night?” he suggested. 

“With both of us,” Jinwoo amended. Like hell he wasn’t going to sleep next to Moonbin after this.

Moonbin looked up at Jinwoo. “Yeah, all of us can stay together,” he said uncertainly, “do you want to do that?” He glanced back down at Seongwoo who looked not at all ready to let go yet.

Seongwoo nodded sheepishly, clinging to Moonbin tighter. Jinwoo scooped Sanha up from bed, grunting at how heavy the boy had gotten, and trucked him off to the master bedroom. 

“Alright, baby, let’s get you to bed,” Moonbin said. He carried the toddler down the hallway and laid him in the middle of the bed. After setting his alarm for the morning, he crawled into bed and settled on his side on the edge

Jinwoo laid on the other side of the bed, facing Moonbin and leaving the boys tucked in the middle. He and Bin definitely needed to talk about this.

Moonbin ran his fingers through Seongwoo’s hair and let the toddler cling onto him. He waited until both boys were asleep before saying anything. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. 

“It’s not your fault,” Jinwoo said softly, “I know I need to loosen up about all of it. We should see if Myungjun will take the boys tomorrow night so we can actually talk.”

“I’m sure he would. Minhyuk and Sanha are always good when they’re together. And if he can’t maybe Dongmin can,” Moonbin said.

“I’ll ask him in the morning,” Jinwoo said, “I’m really sorry about all of this. I promise, I’ll tell you everything.”

“You don’t owe me an explanation,” Moonbin said, “as long as the boys aren’t getting hurt, I really don’t care what happens. I just don’t want our arguments to affect them like this ever again.”

“No, but I want to tell you,” Jinwoo said, “I’ve been avoiding talking about it for too long.”

Moonbin sighed quietly. “You can tell me everything tomorrow. And if you change your mind, I won’t be mad,” he assured. 

Jinwoo smiled and leaned over the boys to kiss Moonbin softly. He was glad the argument was over. 

Moonbin hummed. He fell asleep not long after and regretfully released himself from Seongwoo’s grip in the morning when he had to go to work. When he got home that evening, he opened the door to a quiet house and he knew the boys must have been at Myungjun’s.

Jinwoo had managed to get out of work early so he and Moonbin would have enough time to get everything out in the open. When Bin got home, he had takeout ready on the coffee table.

Moonbin toed off his shoes and tossed his jacket over the back of the couch. “How was your day?” he asked politely. He loosened his tie and sat down on the couch next to Jinwoo. 

“It was good,” Jinwoo said, “it was nice to get out early. Yours?”

“Quiet, which was nice, but I’m glad to be home,” Moonbin said, “thanks for getting dinner.”

“Least I could do,” Jinwoo said with a shrug. He was ready to just get this over with.

Moonbin sighed. “We don’t have to talk about this you know. We can just come up with a plan that won’t affect the boys,” he said. 

“No, I want to talk about it,” Jinwoo said, “I’ve spent so much time avoiding it. Maybe acknowledging it will help.”

“You can tell me as much or as little as you want to,” Moonbin said. He picked up his container of food from the table and turned his attention towards his boyfriend. 

“Well, you know that my sisters and I were in foster care but I never told you why, and it really does start there,” Jinwoo said.

Moonbin’s eyes widened slightly. He hadn’t heard anything about Jinwoo’s past before now.

“My parents were not very well off financially,” Jinwoo said, “neither of them has a degree in anything and they both bounced around jobs a lot and my dad is an alcoholic on top of all of it, so there was never really any money. I don’t think they really intended to have any kids, but they ended up with the three of us anyway, so that made it even tighter. We lived in the worst part of the city, went to the lowest ranked, cheapest school, and still had DCF called on us, so that kinda tells you how bad it was.” Jinwoo paused and took a deep breath. “I was fifteen when we were finally put in foster care. My older sister was almost seventeen and my younger sister was twelve, and we all got split up.”

Moonbin’s expression softened. “I’m so sorry, Jinwoo. I can’t imagine how hard it is to get separated from your siblings that young,” he said. 

“My older sister ended up in a great spot,” Jinwoo continued, “she was the only one of us to graduate high school, and she went to college too. My younger sister was placed pretty much like a block away from my parents and got arrested for the first time when she was sixteen. I dropped out of school in my last year to work. I was in an area just barely better than home and the couple I was living with really only fostered for the stipend, which is fine, really, except I worked and they would take that money too.”

It was crazy to think of how one family could end up in vastly different situations. “That’s horrible that they took your hard earned money,” Moonbin said. 

“Yeah, and it wasn’t like there was really any accountability either,” Jinwoo said, “I ended up striking up a deal with my boss that, rather than giving me a raise like he wanted, I would stay at the same rate on the books so it wouldn’t look suspicious and he would give me the difference in cash so I could hide it. Which actually worked pretty well. When I turned eighteen, I moved out and everything I had managed to hide was what I had, which wasn’t a lot.”

Moonbin put his food back down on the table and scooted closer to Jinwoo. He took his boyfriend’s hands in his own and squeezed them gently. “That was smart of you,” he said. 

Jinwoo shook his head. “It was survivalist and I should have never had to do it, but I did,” he said, “then I moved out and was staying on my own and ended up with a roommate, who I eventually ended up dating. He was in college and got a pretty good job after graduation so we ended up moving out of that part of the city. I still worked, but not as much, and he convinced me to work on finishing my diploma so I could go to school too. I managed to reconnect with my older sister, which was great, and things were going really well for a while, until about this time five years ago.” Jinwoo bit his lip and squeezed Moonbin’s hand. “Jinah was your age when she died.” 

Moonbin sucked in a breath. He had known about Jinwoo’s sister, but it was still heartbreaking to hear about. However, he hadn’t realized she was that young. His thumb rubbed supportive circles on the back of Jinwoo’s hand. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered.

“Sanha had been with a babysitter at the time, or I doubt he would have made it either,” Jinwoo said sadly, “they were stopped at a light and a semi truck just bulldozed over them from behind. The car was basically completely crushed. They had to call me to identify her and her husband and there was barely anything to go off of. The only thing they let me see that I could really identify was the tattoo on her arm. It was...horrible.” He took a deep breath to calm himself. “Sanha stayed with DCF for a few days while they took care of identifications and investigation and whatnot, then the will was found and I was named in it as his godfather, so they called me.”

Moonbin sniffed. He couldn’t imagine ever going through something like this. “I’m glad she had you as his godfather. You’re so good for him,” he said, trying to stay positive. 

“Yeah, well, it didn’t start that way,” Jinwoo said, “my boyfriend, who I had been with for seven years at that point, didn’t agree with you. He didn’t like kids, didn’t want kids, so he turned tail and ran. The only problem was that I was almost completely financially dependent on him. He took it all with him and I lost pretty much everything overnight. We had nowhere to stay, I didn’t have a job at that point, I barely had enough in my wallet to get food and diapers for Sanha, because we had a joint account and he had very nearly emptied it. Texted me later and told me he took his contributions to the account out, which pretty much just left me with pennies. Sanha and I were in and out of shelters for the next few weeks until I got a job and managed to secure an apartment, and you pretty much know how everything goes from there.”

Moonbin pulled Jinwoo into his arms and held the older man tightly. “I wish I could find him so I could knock his head right off his shoulders,” he growled, “I’m so sorry he did that to you and Sanha. That was horrible and I understand why it’s hard to trust me with money.”

“My younger sister suffered for it too,” Jinwoo said, “I was the one responsible for sending her money to make sure she could buy things in prison, and she had to go months with the bare minimum before I could scrape together enough to send to her. I haven’t been able to visit her in years because I can’t afford to take an extra day off work. And I know, I  _ know _ , the boys would be better off with someone, anyone but me, but I just can’t do that to them. They’re my family.”

“No, the boys wouldn’t be better off with someone else. They love you so much. Even if they don’t perfectly understand what’s going on, they would never want to live with anyone other than you,” Moonbin said, “and do you want...do you want to visit your sister?”

“I don’t know,” Jinwoo said, “I always send her money every month, but she hasn’t contacted me in any way, shape, or form since Seongwoo was born. I don’t know that she would want to see me.”

Moonbin sighed. “You gotta do what’s best for you and the boys. If you decide you want to go see her, I’ll support you. And if not, I’ll still support you,” he said. 

“Thanks, Bin,” Jinwoo said with a small smile, “Do you see now why I said three years isn’t that long?”

Moonbin nodded. He had never been in a serious relationship that lasted this long, but obviously the timing was very different for Jinwoo. “I’m sorry for being such an ass about everything,” he said quietly. 

Jinwoo shook his head. “I should have told you earlier,” he said, “I trust you, I really, really do, but it’s gonna take some work for me to overcome my anxieties.”

Moonbin pulled back so he could see Jinwoo property. “We’ll get there. Together,” he promised. 

Jinwoo took a deep breath. “If you wanted to help with Sanha’s schooling, I would be okay with that,” he said, “not cover the whole thing, but help.”

Moonbin nodded. “I can do that. Even if it’s not Minhyuk’s school, as long as it’s something close to here that’ll be good for him,” he said. 

“I want to try for Minhyuk’s school,” Jinwoo said, “so they can stay together, but it isn’t the end of the world if he goes somewhere else, just as long as it’s a good school. Having a quality education helped my older sister so much and I really want that for Sanha too.”

Moonbin smiled softly. “I’ll do whatever it takes to get Sanha into a good school,” he promised, “you’re absolutely amazing, you know that? You’re so good for Sanha and Seongwoo and those boys are going to do so well because of you.”

“I hope so,” Jinwoo said, “I owe it to Jinah to do well by them.”

“And you’re going above and beyond,” Moonbin assured, “now come on. Eat your food before it gets any colder.”

Jinwoo pulled himself out of Moonbin’s arms so he could finish eating. Once the food was gone, he dumped all the containers back in the bag they had come in to take outside later.

“Do you need anything?” Moonbin asked. Jinwoo had handled telling his story very well but that didn’t mean anything.

“I’m okay,” Jinwoo said honestly, “I don’t want to try and plan anything tonight, but I’m not like wildly upset or anything.”

Moonbin nodded. “That’s fine. We can make a plan once we figure out what school Sanha is going to,” he said. He reached over and took Jinwoo’s hands in his own again. 

Jinwoo squeezed Moonbin’s hands gently. It actually felt kind of good to get it all off his chest.

“I love you a lot. You and the boys. You know that, right?” Moonbin asked quietly. He definitely hadn’t been doing a good job of proving that this last few days.

“I know, Bin,” Jinwoo said with a soft smile, “and they know too. They love you so much.”

Moonbin smiled and looked down at their clasped hands. “I hope I can help you trust me to support all of you. You deserve to live a life you love. You’ve worked so hard and I just want to see you take some time for yourself,” he said. 

“Even if things are okay financially, I’ll never not be anxious about it,” Jinwoo said sadly, “that’s just how I am.”

Moonbin felt his shoulders droop. “I just don’t want to see you overwork yourself for the rest of your life,” he said, “I just want to see you happy.”

“I am happy, Bin,” Jinwoo said gently, “ _ you  _ make me happy, and the boys make me happy, and you make the boys happy.”

Moonbin glanced up at Jinwoo again. He leaned forward to kiss his boyfriend’s cheek. “You’re so incredible,” he whispered. 

Jinwoo flushed deeply. “Don’t say that,” he mumbled, “I’m barely doing anything.”

“You always put everyone before yourself. One of these days, I’m gonna convince you to let me take care of you,” Moonbin said.

“Good luck with that,” Jinwoo joked softly. His mind was already racing, trying to do the math and figure out how much he could afford to let Bin contribute and still be okay if he left. 

“It doesn’t have to be monetarily,” Moonbin whispered. He leaned forward again, this time to press a gentle kiss against Jinwoo’s lips.

Jinwoo was easily distracted by Moonbin’s mouth. “I love you,” he mumbled.

“I love you too,” Moonbin said, before kissing Jinwoo again. The kiss was chaste, but it was still more than enough for Moonbin. 

“You know, the boys are gone all night,” Jinwoo said, playing with Bin’s fingers.

Moonbin pulled back slightly. “They’re staying over?” It wasn’t really a question. “And how would you like to spend the rest of our night?” he asked. They hadn’t had a night off from the boys since Moonbin could remember. 

“Well, yeah, I wasn’t sure how much of an argument this was going to turn into,” Jinwoo said sheepishly, “I think we should start by cleaning up and migrating to bed.”

Moonbin sighed quietly. “You go get in bed and I’ll clean everything up,” he said. He stood up from the couch and pulled Jinwoo with him. 

Jinwoo let himself get pulled up and wandered off to the bedroom. He stripped off his shirt, intent on taking a shower. 

Moonbin cleaned up the living room and took out the trash. He walked into the bedroom and was a little surprised to find Jinwoo shirtless. He leaned up against the doorframe and crossed his arms, waiting for his boyfriend to see him. 

Jinwoo looked up and saw Moonbin watching him. “Like what you see?” he asked. 

Moonbin hummed appreciatively. “I do. But please, don’t let me stop you,” he said, glancing down at Jinwoo’s pants that were still on. 

“Perv,” Jinwoo said, “you just wanna get me naked, don’t you? The boys go away for a night and you start thinking with the wrong head.”

Moonbin laughed at that. “You’re doing a pretty good job at getting yourself naked, I have to say,” he said. 

Jinwoo rolled his eyes. “I changed my mind,” he said, “I’m putting on more clothes.”

Moonbin pouted. “No need to get so hasty,” he said quickly. He finally stepped into the room. 

“Well, are you gonna do anything to stop me?” Jinwoo challenged. 

Moonbin’s pout morphed in a small smirk. He walked the rest of the way across the room. Not giving Jinwoo anytime to react, he leaned down and kissed his boyfriend. His hands came up to rest on the older man’s hips. 

Jinwoo let himself be manhandled and easily kissed Moonbin back. He forgot sometimes how much taller the younger man was. 

Moonbin let Jinwoo control the pace. He wasn’t sure how far his boyfriend actually wanted to go so he simply let his fingers play with the waistband of Jinwoo’s pants. 

Jinwoo lifted his arms to settle his hands on Moonbin’s biceps, preventing his boyfriend from pulling too far away. It had been way too long since they’d been intimate and he wasn’t planning on backing off yet.

Moonbin wrapped his arms around Jinwoo’s waist and pulled his boyfriend against him. It was so nice to have Jinwoo back in his arms and he wasn’t going to squander it.

Jinwoo smirked up at Moonbin. “Fuck a shower,” he said, “take me to bed.”

“Gladly,” Moonbin breathed. He unwrapped himself from Jinwoo and guided his boyfriend to sit down on the edge of the bed. He pulled his tie off, shed his own shirt, and tossed both to the side. “It’s only fair,” he said with a shrug. 

Jinwoo always appreciated Moonbin’s bare figure. The younger man was just the right amount of muscular to be hot without overdoing it. 

“What’s that look for?” Moonbin asked, “actually don’t answer that.” He walked over to the edge of the bed and stood in between Jinwoo’s legs. 

“What can I say?” Jinwoo said, leaning back on his hands, “you’re hot, babe.”

Moonbin felt his face heat up. “Knock it off,” he mumbled. Not giving Jinwoo a chance to say anything else, he leaned down to kiss his boyfriend again. He climbed onto the bed and gently pushed the older man to lie down. 

Jinwoo let Moonbin have his fun for a few minutes before pushing him off and rolling them over. He hoped it was good while it lasted, because he was in charge now.

Moonbin let his arms fall above his head. “Oh, is this how it’s gonna go tonight?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Jinwoo hummed. “They certainly aren’t happening with you in charge,” he said. He would never say it out loud, but he needed the semblance of control back after spilling his entire life story. 

Moonbin settled down more comfortably in the middle of the bed. Usually he would tease Jinwoo a little, but tonight he was content to just sit back and enjoy whatever his boyfriend had in store. 

Jinwoo settled on Moonbin’s thighs and fiddled with the button of his boyfriend’s pants. God, the things he wanted to do to this man…

Moonbin tilted his head. “Need a little help?” he asked. He pushed his hips into Jinwoo’s hands. 

Jinwoo shook his head. “Just thinking,” he said, “there’s so much I want to do to you.”

Moonbin shivered. “We have a lot of time,” he said. What exactly did Jinwoo have up his sleeves?

Jinwoo finally popped the button on Bin’s pants and pulled then halfway down his thighs. His fingers ghosted over the bulge in his boyfriend’s underwear.

Moonbin let out a shuddery breath and pushed his hips more insistently into Jinwoo’s hand. “Please don’t tell me you’re going to be a tease tonight,” he said. 

“Shush,” Jinwoo admonished, squeezing Bin gently for a moment before pulling underwear down as well. “Where’s the lube?”

Moonbin whined loudly. “Top drawer of my nightstand in the back,” he replied. 

“Been getting lonely lately?” Jinwoo teased. He leaned over and opened the drawer, fishing around until he found what he was looking for and sat up again. He squeezed some lube onto his fingers and wrapped his hand around Bin.

“I just know the boys won’t go in there,” Moonbin defended. He gasped and let his head fall back against the bed. It had been a long time since they had done anything like this and he was definitely over sensitive. 

“Sure,” Jinwoo said, unconvinced. He stroked Bin slowly, intent on teasing him.

“A-And it’s been a-a while,” Moonbin stuttered out. He grabbed Jinwoo’s waist with both hands, making sure he didn’t go anywhere. 

“That it has,” Jinwoo agreed. It was hard to find any alone time with two toddlers in the house, let alone time for this. 

“I know I said we have a lot of time, but you don’t have to go  _ this  _ slow,” Moonbin said, trying not to sound desperate. 

“We have the time,” Jinwoo teased, “why not take advantage of it?”

Moonbin whined. “‘Cause you’re killing me,” he said dramatically. 

“I’m sure you’ll live,” Jinwoo said, “I could stop altogether if you’d like.”

“No, no, no, that’s okay,” Moonbin said quickly. He didn’t think Jinwoo would stop tonight, but he didn’t want to risk it.

Jinwoo smirked and stroked Bin a little faster. He didn’t want to torture his boyfriend, not tonight at least.

Moonbin bit his lip to hold back a moan before he remembered the boys weren’t home. It was weird not having them around, but it was definitely nice. 

Jinwoo leaned down and bit into Bin’s chest, just to the left of his nipple. He kept stroking his boyfriend, wanting to get him worked up.

“Jinwoo,” Moonbin whined, “just don’t leave anything that could be seen.” He really didn’t want to deal with any shit from his boss if he came in to work with a big visible hickey.

“If anyone but me is seeing your nipples, we have a bigger problem,” Jinwoo muttered to himself. He continued nibbling at the spot, intent on leaving a bruise.

Moonbin moaned quietly. Between Jinwoo’s hand and his mouth, he was quickly becoming putty in his boyfriend’s hands. 

Jinwoo slowly worked his way down Moonbin’s torso until he was hovering over his hips. “I wanna blow you,” he said bluntly. 

Moonbin nearly choked. He picked his head up off the bed and stared at Jinwoo. “Y-Yeah?” he asked uncertainly.

Jinwoo nodded. He really wanted to get Bin’s dick in his mouth; all he needed was permission.

“Okay,” Moonbin agreed. They  _ really  _ hadn’t done anything like this in so long and the excitement and nervousness were battling with each other. In the meantime, he dropped his hands from Jinwoo’s waist. 

Jinwoo stroked Moonbin one more time before carefully taking his boyfriend’s cock into his mouth. He suckled gently before bobbing his head.

Moonbin’s head fell back onto the bed. “Jinwoo,” he gasped, “not too fast.” One hand fisted itself in his boyfriend’s hair, but he didn’t dare to hold him in place.

Jinwoo moved his head slowly, as per Moonbin’s request. He hummed lightly, trying to goad his boyfriend into begging. 

Moonbin moaned, louder this time. Jinwoo’s mouth felt incredible. “God, you’re so perfect,” he mumbled. 

Jinwoo hummed happily, eyes turning into crescents. As much confidence as he may lack, he did kind of get off on praise, so Moonbin was certainly helping him along. 

“You...you feel so good, baby,” Moonbin breathed. He could feel himself hardening in Jinwoo’s mouth and he hoped he could last a little while longer. 

Jinwoo pulled away slowly. A string of saliva hung between his mouth and Moonbin’s cock as he looked up at his boyfriend. 

Moonbin picked his head up and groaned at the sight in front of him. “You’re so fucking hot,” he said shamelessly. He let go of Jinwoo’s hair and wiped the spit from his lips with his thumb.

Jinwoo smirked and sat up. “We have to get to the main act before you embarrass yourself,” he teased, “you should ride me.”

Moonbin didn’t have time to feel flustered. “Me? Ride you?” he asked, “well that’s new.” He wasn’t opposed to the idea in the slightest, but it would be interesting to see how it went.

“C’mon, big boy,” Jinwoo said, slapping Moonbin’s thigh lightly, “up you get.”

“Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?” Moonbin teased. He absolutely loved this confident side of Jinwoo. Not wanting to waste too much time, he obediently sat up. 

Jinwoo moved and sat back against his own pillows, waiting to see what Moonbin would do. They had very rarely explored this aspect of sex, so it was a new experience for them both. 

Moonbin snagged the bottle of lube and held it out to Jinwoo. “I think you’re gonna need this,” he said knowingly. 

“Pretty sure you need it first,” Jinwoo said, cocking an eyebrow. He would get Moonbin to do the work today if it killed him.

“Why would I need it?” Moonbin asked. A second later it clicked and he stared wide-eyed at Jinwoo. “I, but me? Why? Can’t you? Please?” 

“I wanna watch you, baby,” Jinwoo said with a smirk, “last time I saw this bottle, it was not nearly this empty, so I know you’ve been practicing.”

Moonbin whined loudly. “Fine, but you owe me,” he said. With shaky hands, he squeezed some lube onto his fingers and lined the first one up.

“Next time,” Jinwoo promised. He admired the way Moonbin managed to fold his long limbs up in order to properly reach himself. His boyfriend really could look small when he wanted to.

Moonbin nodded in satisfaction. With a shaky breath he pushed his first finger in up to the knuckle. He wouldn’t admit it to Jinwoo, but it hadn’t been that long since he had done this.

Jinwoo’s eyebrows raised at how easily Moonbin’s finger slid in. Clearly, he’d been doing this more recently than he’d thought. “You’re beautiful,” he said quietly. 

Moonbin whined in embarrassment. The heat was rising in his face and he knew his neck and face were getting red. He added a second finger and moaned at the new stretch. 

Jinwoo sat up straight, reaching out to card his hands through Moonbin’s hair and down over his shoulders. 

Moonbin shivered and instinctively leaned into Jinwoo’s touch. He knew this wasn’t as good for Jinwoo as it was for himself so he sped up his fingers to prep himself faster. 

“Careful, baby, don’t hurt yourself,” Jinwoo murmured, “you’re so fucking pretty, Bin.”

Moonbin gritted his teeth He had pushed in a third finger a little too soon and was working himself through the discomfort. “I won’t,” he promised, “but knock it off or I’ll stop.” 

Jinwoo ran his fingers through his boyfriend’s hair again, hoping to soothe him. He could see the discomfort on Bin’s face and he didn’t like it one bit. 

Moonbin continued to work his fingers quickly. It wasn’t the most effective prep, but it was getting the job done and that’s all that mattered. “I’m almost ready,” he promised. 

“Take your time,” Jinwoo said, “there’s no rush. We have all night.”

“I know, but this isn’t about me,” Moonbin said quietly. He wasn’t worried about wasting time per say, but he felt guilty about Jinwoo just sitting back and watching.

“It’s about both of us,” Jinwoo said, “I like to watch, and I’d rather you be fully prepared than try to rush it.”

“If you’re sure,” Moonbin said reluctantly. He slowed his fingers down and moaned as the discomfort begin to ebb and was replaced by pleasure. 

“Of course I’m sure, Bin,” Jinwoo said softly, “I don’t ever want to see you hurt. Ever.”

Moonbin looked over at Jinwoo and smiled. “You’re too good to me,” he murmured. 

“You treat me good, I treat you good, that’s how this works,” Jinwoo replied. Besides, he really did enjoy watching Bin pleasure himself. 

Moonbin hummed, a little distracted. Pushing the envelope a little, he crooked his fingers to find that special spot. He tipped his head back with a loud gasp. 

Jinwoo bit his lip. Between Bin’s flushed cheeks and soft moans and the tightness of his own jeans, it was a wonder he was keeping it together at all.

“I-I’m ready now,” Moonbin said. He pulled his fingers out and wiped the extra lube on the sheets. He dug through his nightstand again to find the brand new box of condoms he also had hidden.

Jinwoo sat back, allowing Bin to move at whatever pace he so desired. He wasn’t going to rush this. 

Moonbin paused before opening the box. “Do you want to use a condom?” he asked.

“Up to you,” Jinwoo said, “we’re clean, so it’s really down to how dirty you wanna get.”

Moonbin opened the box and pulled out a condom. He crawled across the bed towards Jinwoo with the condom between his teeth. He unbuttoned Jinwoo’s jeans and helped his boyfriend out of them and smirking at how hard he already was. “All that just from watching?” he teased. 

Jinwoo hummed. “You really underestimate how attractive I find you,” he said. 

Moonbin flushed. To distract himself he pushed off Jinwoo’s underwear and watched his cock spring free. He tore open the condom wrapper and wasted no time rolling it onto Jinwoo.

Jinwoo groaned as Moonbin’s hand moved over him gently. It had been way too long. 

Moonbin moved teasingly slow, enjoying the groans he was drawing out of Jinwoo. “Ready, baby?” he asked. He leaned forward to kiss his boyfriend gently, trying to ignore the nerves that were edging back in. 

“I’m always ready for you,” Jinwoo murmured into Bin’s mouth. He brought his hands up to his boyfriend’s waist.

Moonbin pulled away. He stroked Jinwoo a couple more times before moving to straddle his boyfriend’s thighs. He lined himself up and paused for a moment before slowly sinking down onto Jinwoo’s cock. His boyfriend was on the thicker side and the stretch felt amazing. 

Jinwoo groaned when Moonbin finally sunk down onto him. “You’re so fucking tight,” he muttered.

Moonbin whimpered quietly. “Y-You feel so good,” he said with a moan. 

“You do too,” Jinwoo said, “fuck, you feel amazing, babe.”

Moonbin moaned at the praise. He kept it slow at first, just working on finding a comfortable rhythm. Only when he found it did he speed up his bouncing ever so slightly. 

Jinwoo ran his hands over Moonbin’s hips and thighs. “You’re so fucking gorgeous,” he grunted out, doing his best to keep from thrusting up.

Moonbin moaned again, a little louder this time. “Don’t hold back,” he said. He wanted Jinwoo to enjoy himself just as much as he was. 

“Don’t wanna hurt you, baby,” Jinwoo said, digging his fingers into the younger man’s thighs. 

“You won’t,” Moonbin promised, “I can take it. You know I can.” It wasn’t really so much a challenge, but it was close.

Jinwoo shifted his hips and thrust up to meet Bin on his next drop down. He groaned. Bin was just so hot. 

Moonbin had to grab onto the headboard to hold himself up. “Again,” he begged. Jinwoo was so close to where he needed him most.

Jinwoo repeated the motion, holding Moonbin’s hips down. Screw making the younger man do it all himself. They both needed this. 

Moonbin didn’t bother to fight Jinwoo holding him down. His thighs were burning and he was happy for the break. “I...love this...side of…you,” he gasped out.

Jinwoo wrapped a hand around Moonbin’s cock and jerked him off shakily, still thrusting up. “C’mon, baby, cum for me,” he said. 

Moonbin fell forward with a loud cry. “Wanna...wanna wait for you,” he said, voice no higher than a whisper. Between Jinwoo thrusting into him at the perfect angle and jerking him off at the same time, it was hard to hold on. 

“I’m there, baby, I’m there, you can go,” Jinwoo mumbled, leaning up to kiss Moonbin’s throat. 

One more thrust from Jinwoo snapped the last bit of control Moonbin had. He came with a loud moan, painting his and Jinwoo’s stomachs with cum. His arms were shaking but he was doing his best to still hold himself up.

Jinwoo wasn’t far behind. As soon as Moonbin tightened around him, he was gone. “Fuck, Bin,” he moaned, “Fuck, I love you.”

Moonbin groaned quietly. “I love you too,” he whispered. Still panting heavily, he leaned down to kiss Jinwoo.

Jinwoo kissed Moonbin back strongly. “I love you,” he whispered again, “I love you, I love you.”

Moonbin smiled. “Save some of your love for the boys,” he said quietly. He pushed himself up, off of Jinwoo and rolled to the side so he wouldn’t crush his boyfriend when he laid down.

Jinwoo turned toward his boyfriend. Moonbin was sweaty and glowing and it made Jinwoo a little proud of himself. 

Moonbin wrapped an arm around Jinwoo and pulled his boyfriend against himself. He always got cuddly after sex, even moreso today since it had been such a long time.

Jinwoo was all too happy to be wrapped up in Moonbin’s arms. He didn’t even care that he was dirty and sticky at the moment. 

Moonbin hummed contently. He peppered kisses around Jinwoo’s face and down his throat. He only stopped when he got to the tattoo on his chest. “You should get another one,” he mumbled, “it’s really hot.”

Jinwoo glanced down at his own chest. “You should get one,” he said, “you’d look so good with one.”

Moonbin shook his head. “No way. They hurt too much. And I don’t even know what I’d get,” he said. 

“They don’t hurt that bad,” Jinwoo said, “this one barely hurt at all.” It had hurt a little bit, but Moonbin didn’t need to know that.

“I don’t trust you. And you have a higher pain tolerance than I do anyway. Sanha’s probably gonna end up with a tattoo before I ever do,” Moonbin said. 

“He’d better not,” Jinwoo said, “not for another twenty years at least. Plus, they’re so expensive.”

Moonbin hummed. “We’ll make sure we wait ‘til he’s twenty five to bring it up,” he said. He wasn’t about to address the money issue, not now at least.

“He paid for it,” Jinwoo said after a while, “I wouldn’t have gotten it otherwise. It was supposed to be an anniversary gift and he left before it was even fully healed.”

Moonbin frowned. “That bastard didn’t deserve to see you with it anyway,” he growled, although it didn’t sound very threatening. 

“It’s okay,” Jinwoo said, “I’m glad I have it. It’s just a reminder that I have to depend on myself first.”

Moonbin hummed. He laid his head on Jinwoo’s chest over the tattoo. “We need a shower,” he said, making no effort to move.

“Yeah,” Jinwoo said with a sigh, “I don’t wanna move though.”

“I don’t either,” Moonbin mumbled tiredly, “you’re so comfy.”

“We gotta shower,” Jinwoo said after a moment, “c’mon, get up.”

Moonbin whined, but obediently let go of Jinwoo. He rolled out of bed and led the way down the hallway into the bathroom. 

Jinwoo followed Moonbin down the hallway to the bathroom. He stepped around his boyfriend and turned the water on. “I’ll help you wash up.”

“Thanks, baby,” Moonbin mumbled. He wrapped himself around Jinwoo’s back while they waited for the water to warm up.

Jinwoo grimaced as he felt the cum on Moonbin’s stomach stick to his back. Once the water was warm, he guided Bin into the shower.

Moonbin sighed when he stepped under the warm spray. He forgoed the shampoo in favor of grabbing the washcloth and the bottle of body wash instead. 

Jinwoo grabbed the shampoo and reached up to start washing his boyfriend’s hair. He was glad that they had used a condom, because it meant less clean up.

Moonbin tilted his head so Jinwoo could reach easier. The feeling of his boyfriend’s fingers running through his hair could put him to sleep right now. “I wish we had a bathtub,” he mumbled.

“Someday,” Jinwoo said softly. Hopefully, he and Bin would be able to move into a bigger apartment soon.

Moonbin hummed. “I would live it in. You’d never see me again,” he joked. 

“At least I’d always know where to find you,” Jinwoo said with a soft smile. Sleepy Bin was the cutest Bin.

Moonbin chuckled quietly. He was ready to fall asleep and he knew the faster they got cleaned up, the faster they could get to bed. He lathered up the washcloth and busied himself washing all of Jinwoo’s body that he could reach.

Jinwoo tipped Bin’s head down to wash the shampoo out of his hair and hummed as his boyfriend helped him clean up as well. Soon enough, they were clean, dry, and back in bed.

Moonbin wrapped himself completely around Jinwoo the moment they got back in bed, even throwing a leg over his boyfriend so he couldn’t move away. “I love you so much. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you,” he mumbled. 

“I don’t know either,” Jinwoo said softly, “you’re my life, Bin. You and the boys.”

Moonbin smiled. “I never thought I’d have any of this, a long term boyfriend, kids,” he admitted, “I always thought my whole life would be spent alone, working until I retired and then traveling the world. But this is so much better. I’m so happy I met you.”

“I didn’t think I’d ever have anything more than Sanha and that shitty apartment that made him so sick,” Jinwoo said softly.

“You deserve so much better than that and I’m glad I could give it to you. Even if it’s not enough,” Moonbin said. Jinwoo and the boys deserve the world and Moonbin would be damned if he wasn’t going to give it to them.

“It will always be way more than enough,” Jinwoo said, “you have no idea how grateful I am for everything you’ve done for us.”

Moonbin smiled softly and tucked his head into Jinwoo’s neck. “I just want to give you the life you deserve after everything you’ve dealt with,” he said quietly. 

“No one deserves any specific kind of life,” Jinwoo said gently, “we just have to take what life gives us and make the best of it.”

Moonbin sighed. “Yeah, I guess so,” he mumbled. He tightened his grip on Jinwoo and let his eyes fall closed. 

Jinwoo kissed Moonbin’s temple softly. “We can talk about it more in the morning,” he said. 

Moonbin simply grunted. He didn’t want to talk about this in the morning. It might lead to another argument and that was the last thing he wanted. 

“I think we can reach a compromise that we’re both comfortable with,” Jinwoo murmured, “the boys won’t be back until noon so we have time.”

Moonbin nodded this time. “Okay. We’ll come up with something that makes everyone happy,” he said. 

“I love you,” Jinwoo said again softly.

“I love you too. I’ll always love you,” Moonbin said. And with that he was out like a light. 

The next morning, it was a fight for Jinwoo to get Bin out of bed. He had called into work for him, knowing his boyfriend would be completely wiped from the night before.

Moonbin whined loudly when Jinwoo shook him awake. “Five more minutes,” he begged, rolling over and curling up into a ball again. 

Jinwoo acquiesced, rubbing Bin’s back gently to keep him from fully passing out again.

Eventually Moonbin cracked his eyes open and glanced at the clock. He gasped when he noticed the time and sat bolt upright. “Why did you let me sleep this late? Fuck, my boss is gonna kill me,” he said. He leapt out of bed and rushed over to the closet. 

“Because I already told your boss you aren’t feeling well and won’t be in today,” Jinwoo said, amused, “which I told you twenty minutes ago when I woke you up the first time.”

“Oh, you did?” Moonbin asked dumbly, “uh, thanks, babe.” He walked back over to the bed and sat next to Jinwoo, fighting the dizziness from getting up too fast. 

“And I called out too,” Jinwoo said, “today and tomorrow. I was thinking we could pack up once the boys are home and make it a mini vacation to the beach instead of just a day trip.”

Moonbin’s eyes widened. “You...you want to go on a vacation?” he asked. Jinwoo had always shot down the idea of a vacation so it was weird to hear him suggest it. “Oh, yeah, we can definitely do that.” There was no way he was going to refuse. 

“I did a lot of thinking after you fell asleep last night,” Jinwoo admitted sheepishly, “and you’re right. It’s been long enough now that I should be less anxious about all the money stuff, especially since you already know about the kids and that was what sent my ex running.”

“Thank you for trusting me to take you on a vacation. And we’ll work on the other stuff slowly,” Moonbin said. He was excited that Jinwoo was finally opening himself up more, but they definitely needed to take this slow.

“I’m not swimming in it, but I’ve been forcing myself and the boys to live well below our means for way too long,” Jinwoo said. Since he had moved in with Bin and stopped paying rent, he had been able to save up large chunks of his paycheck, which meant he had quite a bit piled up in his savings that was completely untouched. 

Moonbin took Jinwoo’s hands in his own. “Will you let me take you shopping? For new clothes for all of you? Even if it’s just one outfit a person and some new shoes,” he requested carefully. 

“For the boys first,” Jinwoo said, “we’ll warm up to me, okay?” As long as the boys had what they needed, he was okay.

“Deal. We’ll take the boys shopping whenever you’re ready and we can worry about you later when you feel comfortable,” Moonbin said. He couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. He was finally getting his chance to spoil all of his boys.

Jinwoo took a deep breath. “About Sanha’s school,” he started, “I have enough in savings that I could cover the first year tuition on my own.” There was a but in there somewhere.

“And you’ll need my help for the rest,” Moonbin supplied, “that’s fine. We can figure out how we want to split it up. I can even help with his first year so you can save some of your money for his second.”

“Actually, I was thinking,” Jinwoo said slowly, “we could go half each on school for Sanha and preschool for Seongwoo.”

Moonbin nodded. “Whatever you’re most comfortable with is fine with me. Just tell me what you need and it’s done,” he said. He was so grateful that Jinwoo was letting him help pay for the boys’ schooling. 

“You’re pretty much their dad,” Jinwoo said, “you’ve been taking care of Seongwoo just as long as I have and I think it’s only fair that you have an equal role in supporting them.”

Moonbin smiled softly. He didn’t think of himself as a father, but he still wanted to support them as much as he could. “I’ll always support them just as much as you do. And I’ll always be here for them, even long after they move out.”

“That makes me really happy to hear,” Jinwoo said, “they deserve someone like you in their lives.”

Moonbin looked down at their hands. “So do you,” he whispered, “but come on. I’m hungry and we haven’t cooked together in ages.” He pulled Jinwoo to his feet and into the kitchen. 

Jinwoo followed Bin and immediately began pulling out the ingredients for samgyeopsal. He would teach his boyfriend to cook if it killed him. 

By cook together, Moonbin meant he would wrap himself around his boyfriend’s back and watch him cook. Which is exactly what he did.

“Binnie, I need you to help me, not cling to me,” Jinwoo said, “can you at least hand me things when I ask for them?”

Moonbin hummed, but didn’t make any effort to move. “You know,” he began carefully, “we’ve been talking a lot about getting Sanha to school, but not about you yet.”

Jinwoo sighed. He knew this conversation would be coming. It had been a couple of years, but he did still eventually want to get to culinary school. “We can’t afford three tuitions at the same time right now,” he said softly. 

“We could wait a year to send Seongwoo. He’s still young,” Moonbin suggested. He needed to be careful not to make Jinwoo upset.

Jinwoo shook his head. “I’d rather send him now. I can always get a scholarship. He can’t.” Like Sanha, Bin’s income prevented Seongwoo from qualifying for any assistance. 

“Then make me a deal. We’ll get the boys through this year, figure out where we stand. And next year you’ll start looking for a school you like. And once you find something we’ll go from there,” Moonbin bargained. 

Jinwoo smiles to himself. “Joke’s on you,” he said, “I already have a school. I just don’t have the means for it yet.”

Moonbin’s eyes widened. “You found a school and you didn’t tell me?” he asked incredulously, “where is it?”

“I’ve always had a school,” Jinwoo said, “I’ve wanted to go forever. It’s just downtown but it’s not cheap.”

“What’s the name of it?” Moonbin asked curiously. He would figure out how to get Jinwoo to culinary school if it was the last thing he did. 

“Nope, I’m not telling you,” Jinwoo said, knowing Bin was cooking up some sort of plan back there. “I’ll let you in on the boys’ educations, but I’m handling mine on my own.”

Moonbin pouted and tightened his grip on Jinwoo, trapping his boyfriend’s arms to his side. “I’m not letting go until you tell me,” he said adamantly. 

Jinwoo still had use of his forearms, so he just shuffled around with Bin hanging off his back. He could be stubborn too.

Moonbin huffed. With a grunt, he used his height as leverage to lift Jinwoo off of the floor and carry him backwards away from the counter. “Tell me. Or else,” he demanded. He wasn’t really sure what the or else was, but he would come up with something. 

Jinwoo slumped, dropping all his weight against Bin. He would let their food burn before he gave his boyfriend what he wanted.

Moonbin couldn’t hold Jinwoo anymore so he put his boyfriend back on the ground, but didn’t let go. “You know I’ll figure it out on my own anyway so you might as well just tell me,” he said. 

“Nope,” Jinwoo said, stepping back up to the stove, “you can figure it out the hard way.”

“Why are you being so stubborn? How am I supposed to plan if I don’t know how much your school costs?” Moonbin asked. 

“That’s exactly the point,” Jinwoo said, “ _ you  _ aren’t planning all of this. I’m doing it on my own.”

“Absolutely not. I know you and you’d never do it. You’d let this sit as a dream for the rest of your life when it can easily be your reality in a couple of years,” Moonbin said. 

“I would not,” Jinwoo said, “I just needed to be certain the boys and I were stable first.”

And there they were, right back where they started. Moonbin let go of Jinwoo and took a couple steps back. “Well hopefully that comes soon,” he said evenly, “I’m gonna go pack a bag.” He wasn’t even sure they were still going to the beach, but at least it got him out of the kitchen. 

“Needed, Bin. Past tense,” Jinwoo said, stopping his boyfriend, “I’m sure now. I just really, really want to do this on my own. I need to prove to myself that I can do it.”

Moonbin sighed. “Alright,” he relented, not entirely convinced, “all of your culinary school stuff is on you and I won’t have anything to do with it.”

“Thank you, baby,” Jinwoo said, relaxing. He kissed Bin softly. “Soon, I promise.”

Moonbin hummed. “Whenever is best for you,” he said simply. He leaned down to kiss Jinwoo’s forehead. As much as he didn’t like it, there was nothing he could do. He was just going to have to accept that he agreed to let this go.

“I’m not going to be able to work while I’m in school so I have to be sure our savings has a nice cushion,” Jinwoo said conversationally. 

Moonbin nodded. “You can build it up faster if you let me take care of the small stuff,” he said quietly. 

“Give me another couple months and then I’ll be ready,” Jinwoo said, “besides, you’re due for a raise soon, aren’t you?”

“I’m hoping for a promotion, but it’s not likely,” Moonbin said. His boss was finally retiring and he knew he would never get that job, but he was hoping whoever did get the job gave him more than just a raise. 

“Hey, don’t be too doubtful of yourself,” Jinwoo said, “you’re skilled and dedicated.”

“Yeah and a troublemaker,” Moonbin reminded him. The company still held his crusade at the factories over his head so he didn’t pull any more stunts like that again. 

“That was, what, four years ago?” Jinwoo asked, “if anything, it just shows how much you care about the company from top to bottom.”

“I’ll use that if I get the chance to interview,” Moonbin said with a laugh, “but honestly if I don’t get something, I might start looking for a new job. But we’ll see what happens.” He didn’t want to worry Jinwoo with the instability that came from changing jobs. 

“That company has tortured you enough,” Jinwoo said softly. He wasn’t surprised that Bin wanted to look for something else. He was only surprised it hadn’t come up earlier. 

“I know, but I make good money and I don’t want to risk it. And if they find out I’m looking for something else, I know they’ll sabotage me,” Moonbin said sadly. 

“So don’t tell them,” Jinwoo said, “most places won’t check your references until after you interview anyway, and at that point, it rarely matters.”

“I wouldn’t, but who knows what they’d find. I want to wait ‘til the boys are settled in school anyway,” Moonbin said, “it’s really not that big of a deal to stay. I know I’ll get the raise either way.”

Jinwoo hummed. He knew they would all be happier when Bin was finally out of that dump of a company. According to Myungjun, some big things were about to happen and it would be best if Bin were out of there first. 

Moonbin sighed and wrapped himself around Jinwoo’s back again. “I think I’ll just stay. If I stick it out another ten years I can probably end up in my boss’ job. And that would be good money and the power to make some actual changes,” he said. 

Jinwoo bit his lip. He wasn’t supposed to tell Bin what Myungjun had told him, because of the risk of it getting out to upper management, but he wanted to warn him so badly. “I think moving on could be good for you,” he said instead. 

“I mean I’d probably be happier somewhere else, but I’m scared to risk it. And the thought of starting completely over is so daunting,” Moonbin said. 

“You have so much experience, I’m sure you could do even better than your current position if you were to go somewhere else,” Jinwoo said, “not to mention, you wouldn’t have someone else holding a good deed over your head like a punishment.”

Moonbin sighed. “I know. Let’s just get the boys settled in school before I start looking for something else. And I promise I’ll look,” he said. 

Jinwoo could agree to that. From what Myungjun said, things wouldn’t be going down for a while anyway. Bin should be safe. Speaking of the boys, though, they were due home any minute.

Moonbin stayed glued to Jinwoo’s back until the doorbell rang. He kissed the back of his boyfriend’s neck before going to answer the door. “Hi, boys! Did you have a good night?” he greeted. 

The boys both hugged Moonbin tightly before running off to find and attack their uncle. It wasn’t long before they were all around the table, eating lunch. Seongwoo had made himself comfy in Jinwoo’s lap and was refusing to move, so he let him be for the time being. 

“So how do you boys feel about a little trip to the beach?” Moonbin asked. He was excited about the prospect of a family vacation. 

That set the boys off immediately. They both hopped up, wanting to rush and pack, but Jinwoo stopped them. “Only if you eat all your lunch,” he said sternly. 

“Come on, boys, let’s finish lunch and then I’ll help you pack. Only good boys can go to the beach,” Moonbin said.

Jinwoo had never seen Sanha eat so quickly. He completely cleaned his plate before rushing off to the bedroom, yelling for Bin to follow him.

Moonbin chuckled. He stood up, carrying the empty plates to the sink, before heading into the bedroom. “Alright, Sanha, what do you want to bring to the beach?” he asked. They didn’t have any beach toys but anything the boys had would work just as good. 

Jinwoo followed with Seongwoo and started packing bathing suits and clothes, along with refilling the diaper bag. They would have to stop and get some swim diapers along the way as well. 

Moonbin helped the boys pack a couple of toys each that wouldn’t get ruined by the sand. He disappeared into his and Jinwoo’s bedroom for a minute to pack a bag for them and grab some towels. 

“You drive and I’ll find us a place to stay?” Jinwoo said when they were all gathered in the hall, checking the bags a final time. 

“Sounds like a plan to me. Come on boys, let’s go,” Moonbin said. The boys all but sprinted down to the car and waited patiently in their car seats to be buckled. 

Jinwoo had never seen the boys more excited for anything in their lives, which was a mark of how well he’d been doing as a parent. He sighed as he finished buckling Seongwoo and got in the passenger’s seat. 

Moonbin doubled checked the boys were all buckled and had snacks and drinks before climbing into the driver's seat. He leaned over and kissed Jinwoo’s cheek when he saw his expression. “You are going to relax on this trip if it kills me,” he whispered.

“How much am I allowed to splurge for the hotel room?” Jinwoo asked. Hopefully, if he went all out on this trip, Bin would back off a bit.

“As much as you want,” Moonbin said, a little surprised, “you know you never have to ask my permission for stuff like this.”

“I know, but it's mostly your income and I wasn’t sure if you’d rather have a super nice hotel room or go to some fancy restaurants,” Jinwoo explained. 

“We could do both. Maybe not restaurants plural, but we can manage both,” Moonbin said, “as long as you're happy and we’re all comfortable, I’m happy.”

Jinwoo sighed and pulled out his phone, starting to search. The hotel room was the most important thing at the moment; Sanha didn’t even remember their time without a permanent home and he still refused to sleep in a vehicle, moving or parked. 

Moonbin sang along with the radio, sneaking glances into the rearview mirror every now and then. He couldn’t believe they were actually going on an overnight trip. 

Jinwoo finally got a hotel room booked and sat back in his seat with a sigh. “Are you boys having fun?” he asked. 

“Yeah!” Seongwoo replied excitedly. He continued flying his plane near the window so it looked like it was outside. “Jinsam, are we really going to the beach?” Sanha asked. 

“Yeah, baby, we are,” Jinwoo said, “for three whole days.”

Sanha’s eyes widened. “Three days? And we can play the whole time?” he asked hopefully.

“Yep,” Jinwoo said, “just playing, no working. Are you excited?”

Sanha nodded eagerly. “And we can go swimming everyday too?” he asked next. 

“If you want to,” Jinwoo said, “we’re going to be right near the beach.”

Sanha lit up like a Christmas tree. He turned to Seongwoo and started babbling excitedly about all of the things they were going to do when they got to the beach. Moonbin chuckled as he listened to Sanha’s plans. 

When they got closer, Jinwoo gave Moonbin the address of the hotel before leaning his chair back to nap for the last half hour or so. 

Moonbin rested his hand on Jinwoo’s thigh and rubbed his thumb back and forth. Between the music and the boys’ excited talking, he had no idea how Jinwoo could fall asleep. When they pulled into the hotel parking lot, he gently shook his boyfriend awake before telling the boys.

Jinwoo was bleary when he woke up, but he pulled himself together soon enough to check in. They weren’t quite at the top of the hotel, but they were close, with a stunning view looking out over the sea. 

“What do you think, boys?” Moonbin asked. The boys ran over to the window and stared wide-eyed down at the beach, tiny fingers pointing in every different direction. 

Jinwoo leaned against Bin’s side, watching the boys. “Come on, if you guys get your bathing suits on, we can go down to the beach,” he said.

Sanha tore away from the window, Seongwoo hot on his heels. The older boy threw his clothes to the floor before searching through the bag for his bathing suit. Seongwoo ended up getting stuck in his shirt in his haste and whined loudly for help. “Hang on, baby,” Moonbin said. He walked over to the toddler and helped get him changed into his bathing suit. 

Jinwoo corralled the boys to sit on one of the beds while he and Bin got changed, then grabbed the diaper bag and some sunscreen and led everyone outside. It was a quick walk from the hotel down to the oceanfront. 

Sanha ripped his hand out of Moonbin’s and took off down the beach, but he didn’t get very far before a big arm wrapped around him and picked him up. “I know you’re excited, bud, but you can’t run off. You gotta stay with us. There’s a lot of people here and we don’t want to lose you,” Moonbin explained.

Jinwoo held Seongwoo’s hand tightly, making sure that both boys stayed with them while they set themselves up and slathered on sunscreen. 

“Alright, let’s go swimming and then I’ll teach you guys how to build a sandcastle,” Moonbin said. He shed his shirt and draped it over the bag they brought.

Jinwoo had to keep himself from choking when Bin suddenly stripped off his shirt. He would never get over how hot his boyfriend was. 

Moonbin raised an eyebrow when he caught Jinwoo’s expression. “Gettin’ a little hot over there, babe?” he asked with a smirk, “come on, you can cool off in the water.”

“Shut up,” Jinwoo muttered, “come on, boys, let’s see who can get Binnie the wettest!”

Before Moonbin could protest, both boys latched onto his hands and dragged him to the ocean. Sanha stopped when they got to the edge and leapt back from the water. “It’s cold!” he shrieked. 

“Yeah, it’s the ocean,” Jinwoo said with a laugh, “now go on or your brother’s gonna beat you!”

Seongwoo was already up to his ankles and didn’t seem bothered by the temperature in the slightest. “Don’t get too far, Seongie,” Moonbin cautioned, “we don't have your floaties.” Sanha, determined not to let his brother show him up, splashed into the water up to his knees, nearly soaking Moonbin in the process.

Jinwoo laughed as his boyfriend got drenched. “Careful, Ddana,” he called, “we wanna soak Binnie, not drown Seongwoo.”

Moonbin shivered when the cold water hit his body. Seongwoo thought seeing Moonbin get wet was hysterical and started joining in on his own splashing. Soon Moonbin was surrounded by two energetic toddlers who were determined to get him as wet as possible. “Alright, you win, you win!” Moonbin eventually said. Both boys let out victorious yells and ran over to Jinwoo.

“Oh no, you don’t,” Jinwoo said, backing away quickly, “I don’t wanna get wet right now, boys, go splash Binnie instead.”

“But Jinsam, we want to swim with you,” Sanha whined. He looked up at his uncle with a pout.

“I’ll come in a little bit, but I don’t wanna get soaked, okay?” Jinwoo said, “if you wanna splash, you can splash Binnie.”

“Okay,” Sanha said quietly. He hung his head and walked back over to Moonbin. “Come on, let’s see how far we can walk,” Moonbin said. He scooped the boys into his arms and carried them deeper into the water. 

Jinwoo waded in up to his ankles and watched Bin carry the boys out to deeper water. It was amazing just how much he trusted his boyfriend with the boys. If he didn’t already know Bin didn’t want to, he’d ask him to adopt them in a heartbeat. 

Moonbin stopped when the water reached his chest. It was still a little chilly, but not unbearable. He bounced up and down, creating little waves that caused the boys to laugh. A wide grin spread across his face. The boys were so happy and he wished they could do something like this everyday. 

Jinwoo pulled out his phone and took a few pictures of Bin and the boys. He watched them play for a little while before calling them back in so they could get dried off and cleaned up to go find dinner. 

The boys were disappointed to have to get out, but perked up a bit when they were promised they could go in the water the next day. Moonbin wrapped each of the boys in a towel before wrapping one around his waist. Only once the boys were dry and dressed did he finish drying himself off and put his shirt back on. 

Jinwoo gathered up all of their stuff and shepherded his towel covered family back into the hotel and up to their room. “Alright, all of you, in the bath,” he instructed. 

“Bath?” Sanha asked. Before Jinwoo could respond he rushed into the bathroom and gasped when he saw the huge bathtub. 

Jinwoo smiled when he heard Sanha gasp. “All of you in the bath,” he said again, “salty boys.”

Moonbin followed Sanha into the bathroom. He dropped his towel on the floor and turned the water on. Sanha stood at the edge of the tub and watched intently as it slowly filled up. 

Jinwoo carried Seongwoo into the bathroom and passed him off to Bin. He could tell the younger boy was in need of a nap before dinner, which was why he’d brought everyone back in a little early. 

Sanha was out of his bathing suit and into the tub before it was even filled. Seongwoo on the other hand was less than thrilled and curled into Moonbin’s chest instead. “I know you’re tired, baby, but we gotta get you all cleaned up and then you can go cuddle with Jinsam,” Moonbin promised. He convinced Sanha to stop splashing long enough to wash Seongwoo and then send him into the main room in a towel to find Jinwoo.

Jinwoo smiled when he saw a wet and clean Seongwoo waddling toward him, trying not to trip over the towel. He got the boy diapered and dressed in some comfy clothes then laid down in one of the beds with him. 

Moonbin was happy to let Sanha play in the bathtub to his heart’s content. When the boy finally settled down, he shampooed the salt from his hair and helped him was his body. When the boy was cleaned, Moonbin drained the tub and helped Sanha out. Once he was dressed, Sanha skipped out of the bathroom to find Jinwoo and Moonbin took a quick shower of his own. 

Jinwoo wasn’t surprised when Sanha wiggles himself under his other arm. Seongwoo was already fast asleep, so Jinwoo hushed the older boy. 

Moonbin wasn’t surprised to find both boys snuggled into Jinwoo’s sides. They really loved their uncle so much. With a soft sigh, Moonbin laid down on the other bed. 

“Wanna look for some dinner places?” Jinwoo asked quietly, “I say we give them an hour then try to head out.”

Moonbin nodded and pulled out his phone. He looked for restaurants close by in case Seongwoo was still tired when he woke up. “You know, that tub in there is big enough for the both of us,” he said casually, not looking up from his phone.

“You know both of our children are here,” Jinwoo responded, glancing over Seongwoo’s head. 

Moonbin glanced over at the sleeping toddlers. “Yeah, but they’ll both sleep good tonight. At least we get some ideas for what we’d want when we move,” he said. 

“When we move?” Jinwoo asked, eyebrows raised, “who said anything about moving?”

“Uh, no one yet, but the boys are gonna get too big to share a room soon. Might as well think about some things we would want,” Moonbin said, looking back at his phone.

“That won’t be for a while yet,” Jinwoo said firmly, “I don’t think we need to worry about it quite yet.”

Moonbin hummed. “I found a place that’s not too far from here for dinner,” he said, changing the subject, “we can do something fancier tomorrow night when everyone has more energy.”

“Sounds good to me,” Jinwoo said, “I’m gonna nap too, I think.”

Moonbin smiled softly. “Get some rest, babe,” he said, “I’ll wake you up in a little bit.” He was glad that Jinwoo was already relaxing. 

Jinwoo closed his eyes, forcing himself to relax. He wasn’t going to argue with Moonbin on this trip. He refused to. 

Moonbin scrolled through his phone more, finding a perfect restaurant for tomorrow. It would be the fanciest place they had ever gone, but he was going to take advantage of Jinwoo letting him spoil all of them. Sanha was the first of the cohort to wake up. Moonbin gave him a few minutes before encouraging him to wake up Jinwoo.

Jinwoo groaned when a body landed on his stomach. “Careful, you’ll hurt your brother,” he mumbled before he was even fully awake. 

Moonbin chuckled to himself. “Come on, Jinsam, it’s dinner time,” Sanha announced. He gently shook his uncle’s shoulder.

“I’m up, I’m up,” Jinwoo said, finally opening his eyes. He carefully lifted Seongwoo up and laid the boy over his shoulder, earning himself a whine. “It’s time to get up for dinner, kiddo,” he said. 

“No,” Seongwoo whined tiredly. He buried his face in Jinwoo’s neck and tightened his grip on his uncle. 

“C’mon, baby, we’re gonna go eat somewhere nice and maybe even get ice cream after,” Jinwoo said, sitting up with Seongwoo still secure around his neck, “how’s that sound?”

Seongwoo picked up his head and rubbed his eyes. “Ice cream?” he asked in a small voice.

“If you can wake up and eat your dinner,” Jinwoo said, “ _ all _ your dinner,” he added, eyeing Sanha. 

Seongwoo sat up straighter. “Awake, awake!” he said, “Jinsam, I want ice cream.” Moonbin stood up from his bed and stretched. “Come on, Sanha, let’s get your shoes on,” he said. 

“Dinner first,” Jinwoo said as he let Seongwoo go and shoved his own shoes on. He grabbed the diaper bag, just in case, and hoisted Seongwoo back up once he was fully dressed. 

Moonbin guided his family downstairs to the car. The restaurant was only a five minute drive away from the hotel and in no time they had arrived and were seated at a booth. The window overlooked the ocean and both boys glued their faces to the window the moment they sat down.

Jinwoo sat Seongwoo on his lap, pointing out the things on the menu to him. Predictably, the toddler chose to go with pasta.

“Sanha, I’m gonna order for you if you don’t come pick something,” Moonbin said. “Okay,” came the distracted reply. Sanha still had his face against the window and looked content to stay there. Moonbin just sighed and looked over the children’s section of the menu.

“Sanha,” Jinwoo said firmly, “look at the menu, then you can look out the window, okay?”

“I want what Seongie picked,” Sanha said, still not moving. “It’s alright, Jinwoo,” Moonbin said quietly, “as long as he eats most of it we’ll be okay.”

“Seongwoo picked pasta, is that okay?” Jinwoo asked, “please look at me when I’m talking to you. The ocean will still be there in a couple minutes.”

Sanha turned around with a pout. “Pasta’s okay,” he said. And with that he went right back to looking out the window. “You gotta eat most of it to get ice cream,” Moonbin reminded him. Unsurprisingly, he got no response. 

“ _ All _ of it,” Jinwoo corrected, “or no ice cream. Okay, Sanha?”

“ _ Fine _ ,” Sanha whined. Moonbin could tell the boy was getting annoyed and they definitely didn’t need a tired meltdown before they even ordered their food. He reached over and gently ran his fingers through Sanha’s hair. 

Jinwoo huffed. He didn’t want to make a scene in public but he was getting really tired of Sanha’s attitude.

Moonbin couldn’t say he was surprised when Sanha pushed his hand away. He let it fall back into his lap and turned to look at Jinwoo. His boyfriend did not look happy at all.

Jinwoo eventually decided to let it go and just focus on Seongwoo in his lap. The boy was all too happy to try and play the games that were on his children’s menu. 

When the waiter finally came over, Moonbin ordered for all of them. Sanha didn’t even seem to register what was happening and was still happy watching the water. The sun was starting to go down, which hopefully meant the boy would pay attention to his dinner.

Jinwoo knew things were about to go south when the food was delivered and Sanha’s gaze didn’t turn away from the window at all. “Sanha,” he said evenly, “eat your dinner.”

“But, Jinsam, I’m not hungry,” Sanha whined. “Sanha, you can look out the window while you eat your pasta,” Moonbin said. “No,” Sanha replied sharply. Moonbin’s eyes widened; the boy had never said no to him like that and he wasn’t quite sure what to do.

“Yoon Sanha,” Jinwoo said firmly, reaching up to pull down the window shade and block Sanha’s view of the ocean, “eat your dinner.”

Sanha turned around and glared at Jinwoo. “You can’t tell me what to do,” he said, crossing his arms, “and I don’t have to listen to you.”

“On the contrary, I can and you do,” Jinwoo said, “I’m your guardian for a reason.”

“No,” Sanha said firmly, “you’re not my daddy. You can’t tell me what to do.” Moonbin inhaled sharply. He didn’t want to interject, but he did swiftly move the boy to his other side so he couldn’t reach for the shade and possibly break it. 

Jinwoo froze before taking a deep breath and moving Seongwoo off of his lap. “I’ll be right back,” he said, shooting Bin a tight smile before getting up and leaving the restaurant altogether. 

“Jinsam,” Seongwoo whined. He climbed down from the booth, but didn’t get very far before Moonbin scooped him up and sat him on his lap. “He’ll be back in a few minutes,” he promised,“Sanha, you need to apologize to your uncle when he gets back. And if you tell me no, I will drive you home tomorrow and you’ll stay with Dongmin for the next two days while we go to the beach.”

Jinwoo just needed a walk, that was all. It might end up being a walk back to the hotel, he wasn’t quite sure yet. He headed down the street toward the corner, intent on lapping the block, when he passed a convenience store. He was going to ignore it, when a bright sign caught his attention. He hadn’t had a smoke in years, had quit cold turkey when Sanha had come to stay with him, but he was really itching for one right now. 

Moonbin was getting more and more nervous the longer Jinwoo was gone, but he knew his boyfriend would call him if it was an emergency. He distracted himself by helping Seongwoo eat his pasta and taking little bites of his own dinner. Sanha sat silently next to him, arms crossed, and staring at the door. 

Jinwoo was nothing if not a weak man. He had already been considering not returning to the restaurant, and he certainly couldn’t now that he smelled like cigarettes. He texted Moonbin that he was going back to the hotel and started his walk. 

Moonbin ripped his phone out of his pocket when it buzzed. He was relieved that Jinwoo was okay, but he was a little unsure about him walking all the way back. “We’ll pick you up. I just have to pay the bill and get boxes and we’ll be on our way,” he replied.

“Don’t,” Jinwoo replied, “I’ll be back by the time you’re done. Just have fun with the boys.”

Moonbin’s chest tightened. “Jinsam,” Seongwoo whimpered again. “He’s meeting us back at the hotel, baby, we’ll see him soon,” Moonbin assured. “I don’t wanna go back,” Sanha said stubbornly. “You don’t have a choice in the matter,” Moonbin said, a little more harshly than he had meant. Sanha fell silent again. Finally the waiter came back over and they paid, boxed up the extra food, and were back on the way to the hotel. 

Jinwoo finished off another cigarette in the alleyway next to the hotel before heading up to the room. He immediately got in the shower, trying to wash away the stench. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hide it from Bin, but he could at least keep it away from the boys. 

“Sanha, remember what I told you,” Moonbin warned as they entered the hotel room. Jinwoo was in the shower so he put the food in the fridge and got the boys changed in the meantime. 

Jinwoo emerged from the shower and immediately went to brush his teeth. He left his dirty clothes in there, not wanting to drag the smell all over the room, and entered the bedroom with just a towel around his waist. He didn’t look at or speak to any of the boys, simply getting dressed and laying down in bed. 

Much to Moonbin’s dismay, Sanha said nothing to Jinwoo. Even Seongwoo could tell something was going on and kept quiet. Moonbin ushered the boys into the bathroom to brush their teeth. He froze when he noticed a faint odor. It smelled like cigarette smoke. But that didn’t make sense. Out of the corner of Moonbin’s eye, he spotted Jinwoo’s dirty clothes and it clicked. He ushered the boys out of the bathroom as quickly as he could without raising suspicion and sent them to bed. Seongwoo needed a little help getting into bed and immediately went to snuggle with Jinwoo, while Sanha climbed into the other bed and curled into a ball, facing the wall.

Jinwoo never wanted to reject either of the boys, but he didn’t want Seongwoo near him at the moment, not when he was near tears and certainly still smelled like smoke. “Go lay with Sanha, baby,” he said quietly. 

“Jinsam,” Seongwoo whimpered, snuggling closer, “wanna lay with you.” Moonbin washed up and got changed quickly. Jinwoo looked absolutely miserable and as sweet as Seongwoo was, he knew the boy wasn’t helping. “Come on, Seongie, come snuggle with me for a little while,” he said. Seongwoo was scared to say no, but he didn’t want to leave Jinwoo.

Jinwoo was so grateful for Bin. The younger man lifted Seongwoo away from him, despite the boy’s protests, which gave Jinwoo the space he needed. He should have known this day would come. He just didn’t expect it to come so soon. 

Moonbin laid down in the other bed, but gave Sanha plenty of space. Seongwoo stretched out across his chest and stared across the room at his uncle. “Jinsam,” he whimpered miserably. “He’ll be okay soon, baby. I promise. And he’s gonna cuddle with you when he feels better,” Moonbin assured. He lowered his voice. “Sanha, you better apologize first thing in the morning.” The boy huffed in response. 

Jinwoo didn’t manage to fall asleep, but he was able to hear when both boys’ breathing evened out and that was when he finally let himself go. Muffling his sobs in the pillow, he cried. 

Moonbin’s chest ached when he heard Jinwoo start crying. He carefully moved Seongwoo off of him and climbed out of bed. “It’s just me, babe,” he said as he sat on the edge of Jinwoo’s bed, “do you want me to stay over here for a little while?”

Jinwoo nodded slowly. It was ridiculous how much he depended on Bin just to feel okay. 

Moonbin laid down next to his boyfriend and wrapped him in his arms. “It’s okay to cry. I got you, Jinwoo, and I’m not letting go,” he whispered. 

Jinwoo rolled over and clung to Moonbin tightly, burying his face in his boyfriend’s chest. The worst part was that Sanha wasn’t wrong. Jinwoo wasn’t his dad and he never would be. He had never intended to replace the boy’s father, even though Sanha didn’t even remember his dad, but it just hurt so much. 

“Easy, baby, I got you. Just don’t forget to breathe. And take all the time you need,” Moonbin said soothingly. He rubbed his hand up and down his boyfriend’s back, not entirely sure what would help right now.

“It just h-hurts so bad,” Jinwoo gasped out finally, “a-and I can't fix it.”

Moonbin sighed sadly. “I know it’s hard and for him to say that this young is really devastating. But right now you need to focus on you and we’ll talk to Sanha in the morning. We may not be able to fix this how we want to, but we’re gonna do the best we can,” he said gently. 

“I can’t take him to see his dad,” Jinwoo said quietly, “I don’t even know where they are. I barely knew his dad so I can’t answer any questions. I never wanted him to think I was trying to be his dad, because I’m not and it’s important to me that he knows that and that he knows about what happened, but  _ god.  _ I’ve given that kid everything I have. What more does he want from me?”

“I don’t think he fully understands what’s happening. He doesn’t remember his parents and he’s probably confused as to why he can’t see them. I don’t think he’s lashing out because he intentionally wants to hurt you. I think he’s confused and maybe even sad. It’s gonna be hard to explain everything to a five year old but I think it’ll make everything better by talking to him,” Moonbin said. 

“He knows what happened,” Jinwoo said, “that’s part of his thing about sleeping in cars. He’s scared that if he falls asleep in a car, he won’t wake up, just like his parents. That, and he had the trauma of us literally living in my car a few times.”

Moonbin let out a long breath. “He loves you a lot. It’s so obvious and I really don’t think he meant to hurt you. But I don’t know what’s going on with him. Hopefully, he’ll feel better in the morning and we can talk to him,” he said. 

“What if he already hates me, Bin?” Jinwoo asked, voice dropping to a whisper. “What if I can’t fix it?”

“There’s no way he hates you. You’re his whole world. And you’ve done so much for him. Even if he acts like it right now, I know he doesn’t hate you,” Moonbin said, “when I first started staying home alone with the boys, he would cry himself to sleep almost every night because he missed you. Nothing I did would ever calm him down.”

“Things change, Bin,” Jinwoo said with a heavy sigh, reaching up to wipe his eyes, “What if I did something to hurt him without even realizing it?”

“Then talk to him tomorrow. Sit him down and figure out what’s going on. And if he won’t talk to you, I’ll talk to him,” Moonbin said, “I told him if doesn’t apologize to you, I would take him home so we would have plenty of time to talk if need be.”

“No, I don’t want to ruin the rest of his vacation and have him hate me more,” Jinwoo said, “besides, that really wouldn’t be fair to Seongwoo and you saw how excited they both were to go on this trip.”

“It was my threat. If anything, he’d hate me. And I told him I’d leave him with Dongmin. I am not about to ruin this trip for you and Seongwoo,” Moonbin explained. 

“It may be your threat, but it was because of me, and that’s what his tiny kid brain will focus on,” Jinwoo mumbled, “can’t I just reverse time by a couple of hours?”

Moonbin sighed sadly. Now Sanha was going to know his threats meant nothing and really not listen to him in the future. “I’m sorry, babe, but that’s not how it works. As much as we’d like it too,” he said. 

Jinwoo sighed and sniffled. “I’ll talk to him in the morning,” he mumbled. Pulling himself away from Bin, he stepped into the bathroom to retrieve the cigarettes from his shorts. He didn’t want to smoke another, but he was just so anxious. 

Moonbin sat up and watched Jinwoo. He frowned when he saw the pack of cigarettes in his hand. “Babe, please don’t do this. I know everything’s really hard right now, but there’s gotta be something better,” he said. 

“Just one, Bin,” Jinwoo promised, “I promise it’s the last one, I just...really,  _ really _ need one right now.”

Moonbin sighed. “Throw the rest of the pack away on your way back up,” he said. He stood up and moved to lay next to Seongwoo again.

Well, Jinwoo wasn’t going to do that. He had spent a lot of money on these. With a sigh, he grabbed a key and left the room. He headed for the balcony at the end of the hallway, where he could smoke without it getting back to the boys. 

Seongwoo stirred when Moonbin laid down. “It’s okay, baby, go back to sleep,” Moonbin murmured. The toddler whined quietly and snuggled into his chest. 

Jinwoo ended up smoking two cigarettes before he finally forced himself to go inside. He went straight into the bathroom to brush his teeth and try to rid himself of the taste. He left the pack on the TV stand and climbed into bed again. 

Moonbin cracked his eyes open when Jinwoo came back into the room. He frowned when he saw his boyfriend put the pack of cigarettes on the TV stand. If he didn’t have Seongwoo glued to his side, he would have gotten up and thrown them away himself, but that was going to have to wait until the morning. 

The rest of the night was rough. Jinwoo didn’t sleep, and he wasn’t sure that Moonbin did either. When he finally deemed it bright enough outside to get up, he rolled out of bed and into the shower. 

Moonbin waited until he heard the water running to get out of bed himself. Both boys were still asleep and he knew they would be okay for a few minutes while he took a walk. He snagged the pack of cigarettes off of the TV stand and disappeared from the room to find somewhere to throw them out where Jinwoo couldn’t get them back. There was a trash room down the hallway from them and that was where Moonbin discarded the pack. He made his way back to the room quickly.

Jinwoo got dressed in the bathroom and walked out toweling his hair dry. “Bin,” he said slowly, noticing the empty spot on the TV stand, “where did my pack go?”

“It’s gone,” Moonbin replied simply. He was sitting in the chair by the window, enjoying the view while they were still here. Hopefully Sanha would wake up soon and apologize so they could all go down to the beach.

“What did you do with it?” Jinwoo asked, “I spent money on that, you can’t just fucking take it.”

“I threw it away. I don’t want you to get into that habit. It’s not good for you and it’s especially not good for the boys,” Moonbin said calmly, “I asked you to get rid of it on your own and you didn’t so I did.”

“It’s not a habit I’m going to get back into,” Jinwoo said, started to get heated, “but you can’t just throw my fucking money away, Bin!”

“I’ll pay you back for them,” Moonbin said, “and I get you’re pissed at me and that’s fine, but don’t take it out on the boys. Especially Seongwoo. He was whining for you the whole time you were gone and he’s going to think he did something wrong if you take this out on him.”

“How am I taking any of this out on the boys?” Jinwoo demanded, “you fuckin’ threw away my shit, Bin, that’s not okay!”

Moonbin cast a nervous glance at the bed to make sure neither of the boys had woken up. “I threw it away ‘cause it’s shit the boys don’t need to be around  _ and _ it’s shit I don’t want to be around. I’ll help you through anything. I’ll support you no matter how hard it gets, but if you’re gonna smoke yourself away to feel better you need to do that far away from me,” he said, “I know what Sanha said was really hurtful, but we can get through it without cigarettes, I promise.” 

“It isn’t about the damn cigarettes, Bin,” Jinwoo hissed, “it’s about you feeling entitled to do whatever the fuck you want with  _ my shit _ .”

Moonbin narrowed his eyes. “I don’t feel entitled. If you brought home a bottle of alcohol, I would have done the same thing. It’s not about it being your stuff. It’s the fact that you’re going back to something that hurts all of us. If you binge spent money on, I don’t know, clothes or food or something like that, I wouldn’t have touched it,” he said. 

“I’m not going back to anything,” Jinwoo said, “it was a moment of weakness caused by emotional distress.”

“And that’s fine. Now it’s over and the rest of them are gone. You didn’t need them anyway so there’s no point in keeping them around where the boys can find them,” Moonbin said. 

“That doesn’t give you the right to get rid of them!” Jinwoo said, “you don’t  _ get it, _ Bin. This isn’t about me wanting to keep them, it’s about not wanting to just throw money in the trash!”

“And so you were going to smoke the rest of the pack just to not waste the money?” Moonbin asked, “unfortunately for you, I’m not gonna let something like that happen no matter what the circumstances are. If you don’t want your money thrown in the trash, do a better job of hiding stuff like this from me.”

“Don’t throw my shit away,” Jinwoo said, “ever. Got it? I don’t care what it is. If I paid for it, don’t fucking touch it.”

“Then keep your shit far away from the boys and from me. I’ve never touched anything of yours before and I’ll continue to leave it alone unless it’s dangerous,” Moonbin said. 

Jinwoo hadn’t expected to be so angry about this. It wasn’t like he intended to smoke any of the rest of the pack, so why did he care so much that they were gone? Regardless, he didn’t want to take it out on Bin, so he told the younger man he was taking a walk and left the room. 

Moonbin shook his head. He had no idea where Jinwoo would end up, but he couldn’t worry about that right now. The boys were slowly beginning to wake up and Moonbin gave them all the time they needed before packing their bag and heading downstairs. After they ate breakfast, he sent a text to Jinwoo telling him he was bringing the boys to the beach. And that was what they did. He set them up in roughly the same spot they were in the day before and promptly took the boys in the water. 

Jinwoo took a long walk through and around the hotel. When he got Moonbin’s text, he knew he should head back. He stopped at a bakery first and grabbed some sandwiches so they wouldn’t have to worry about leaving the beach for lunch.

Sanha seemed to cheer up when they went swimming. Seongwoo was happy as a clam as well and Moonbin was grateful the boys were at least enjoying their day. When they got tired of swimming, they moved back to where their stuff was and Moonbin helped the boys attempt to build a sandcastle.

Jinwoo found them easily and sat down on the towel with his bag of sandwiches. They were a little ways away so neither of the boys had noticed him yet. 

Moonbin dug some of the sand away so they could make a moat. He didn’t get very far when Seongwoo let out an excited “Jinsam!” Moonbin turned around just in time to see the toddler run over to his uncle and tackle him in a big hug. “Don’t you have something you need to say to your uncle?” he asked Sanha. Sanha whined quietly, but stood up and walked over to Jinwoo anyway. 

Jinwoo caught Seongwoo easily, holding the boy closely and assuring him that he wasn’t going anywhere. He watched Sanha apprehensively, unsure of what the older boy would do. 

Sanha looked down at the sand. “Sorry, Jinsam,” he mumbled. He turned back around, but didn’t get far when Moonbin shot him a look. The toddler whined again and slowly made his way over to his uncle to give him a hug. 

Jinwoo moved Seongwoo to one side and hugged Sanha tightly. “Do you wanna talk about what made you so mad, kiddo?” he asked. 

“I just wanted to look out the window,” Sanha whined. He buried his face further into Jinwoo’s shoulder, trying his best to hide.

“I know, baby, but you know you have to eat too, right?” Jinwoo said softly. 

“But I wasn’t hungry,” Sanha mumbled, “please don’t be mad.” Moonbin sighed sadly. They would definitely have to do something about Sanha not eating when they got home.

“Baby, if you don’t eat, you’re gonna get sick,” Jinwoo said, releasing Seongwoo so he could focus completely on the older boy. “You’re not gonna be able to grow big and strong if you don’t eat.”

Seongwoo stayed close to his uncle and brother, not entirely sure what was going on. “I don’t wanna get sick,” Sanha mumbled. Moonbin kept his distance, simply watching his boys from where he sat. 

“Is the food making you feel sick?” Jinwoo asked softly. 

Sanha whimpered. “Sometimes,” he answered honestly. He clung onto Jinwoo’s shirt, hoping his uncle wasn’t mad at him.

“Baby, you have to tell me when that happens, okay?” Jinwoo said, “if it makes your tummy hurt or your mouth feel weird or anything. Otherwise, I just think you’re being picky. I don’t wanna feed you things that make you sick.”

Sanha nodded. “‘M sorry, Jinsam,” he said, voice muffled by his uncle’s shoulder.

“It’s okay, baby,” Jinwoo said, “but we still have to talk about what you said to me last night. That made me really sad.”

Sanha sniffled. “I’m really sorry, Jinsam,” he said sadly, “I love you a lot.”

“I love you too, Ddana,” Jinwoo said, “and I know I’m not actually your dad, but I promise I’m trying my best.”

“I miss Mommy and Daddy,” Sanha said quietly. Seongwoo didn’t like seeing his brother sad, so he walked around Jinwoo and hugged him from behind.

“I miss your Mommy and Daddy too,” Jinwoo said. He rubbed Seongwoo’s back for a moment before carefully redirecting him to Bin. “Sanha and I are gonna take a walk,” he said, picking the boy up.

“Come here, Seongie,” Moonbin said, reaching an arm out, “let’s keep working on our sandcastle.” The toddler reluctantly walked over to him and plopped down in his lap. 

Jinwoo carried Sanha up to the boardwalk before setting him down and guiding him over to a bench. “You know, your Mommy and Daddy were really special people,” he said. 

Sanha peered up at Jinwoo with big eyes. “They were?” he asked.

Jinwoo nodded. “I didn’t know your Daddy very well, but your Mommy was my big sister and if she married your Daddy, he must’ve been really amazing.”

Sanha sniffed and wiped his eyes. “Really? I bet he was perfect, like you,” he said. He climbed into his uncle’s lap and held on tight. 

“I’m not perfect, Sanha,” Jinwoo said with a small laugh, “no one’s perfect. But I do know that your Daddy was very kind and that he loved you so, so much.”

Sanha snuggled closer to Jinwoo. “I wanna meet him. Him and mommy,” he said. 

Jinwoo hesitated. “I’ll find them,” he promised, “I’ll find out where they are and we can go visit,” he said softly. 

Sanha looked up at Jinwoo and smiled. “We can go visit? Like another vacation?” he asked. 

Jinwoo smiled sadly. “Not quite, baby,” he said, “we can’t visit them in person, but we can go and see where they’re sleeping, okay?”

Sanha frowned. “But...I wanna say hi,” he said in a small voice. He didn’t understand why they couldn’t wake them up. Jinwoo always told him it was mean to wake people up when they’re sleeping, but couldn’t they do it just this once?

“I’m sorry, kiddo,” Jinwoo said, “remember how I told you that your Mommy and Daddy got really hurt and they had to go to sleep so they wouldn’t hurt anymore?”

Sanha hid his face in Jinwoo’s neck and nodded. “I don’t want them to be hurt,” he mumbled sadly.

“I don’t want them to be hurt either,” Jinwoo said, “that’s why we need to let them sleep, okay?”

“Okay,” Sanha agreed. He paused for a moment. “Jinsam, you won’t have to go to sleep too, right?” he asked nervously.

“No, baby, not for a long, long time,” Jinwoo said, “it’s not like normal bedtime sleep, it’s a deep, deep sleep and I won’t have to go for years and years and years.”

“You can’t go ever,” Sanha said, clinging onto his uncle tighter, “or Binnie or Seongwoo.”

“We won’t, baby,” Jinwoo assured him, “we’re always going to be right here with you, I promise.”

“Me too,” Sanha said. He played with the hem of Jinwoo’s shirt. “I’m sorry I was mean to you yesterday.”

“As long as you know you were mean and you feel sorry, I forgive you,” Jinwoo said, rubbing the boy’s back carefully.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Sanha said earnestly, “I love you a lot, Jinsam. I love you and Binnie and Seongwoo so, so much.”

“We all love you too,” Jinwoo said, “do you wanna go back and finish building the castle with your brother?”

Sanha nodded, but didn’t make any move to get up. He wanted to stay as close to Jinwoo as possible. 

Jinwoo stood up, keeping Sanha secure in his arms. “You’re getting so big, kiddo,” he said, “I’m not gonna be able to do this much longer.”

“No, no. You have to carry me forever,” Sanha declared. He dropped his head on Jinwoo’s shoulder and wrapped his legs around his uncle’s waist. 

“You’re gonna get too heavy for me,” Jinwoo said, “soon, only Binnie will be able to carry you.”

“But I love you more, so you have to carry me,” Sanha said. Moonbin could carry Seongwoo around.

“It isn’t about love,” Jinwoo said with a laugh, “it’s about Binnie being stronger than me.”

“But love can make you stronger,” Sanha decided, “and I love you a whole lot. And Seongie loves you a whole lot. And Binnie loves you a whole lot too!”

“You’re very cute, Sanha,” Jinwoo said, “I’ll get stronger just for you, okay?”

Sanha smiled widely. “Thanks, Jinsam,” he said. Even when they got back to the beach, he wasn’t quite ready to let go. Seongwoo raced back over to his uncle and brother before they could even sit down.

Jinwoo finally made Sanha get down when they got back to the site so that he could help Seongwoo build his sandcastle. He sat to the side with Bin, watching the boys carefully. 

Moonbin didn’t say anything. He wasn’t sure if Jinwoo was still mad at him and he didn’t want to risk setting his boyfriend off again, especially considering the boys were both happily playing together. 

“I told him I would find out where his parents are buried when we get home,” Jinwoo said softly, “I think he really misses them a lot. We need to make him a doctor’s appointment too, to get some allergy testing done.”

Moonbin hummed. “It might be too late when we get home to call the doctor, but we’ll have to see,” he said simply, “we could call from here tomorrow morning though.”

“It doesn’t have to be immediate,” Jinwoo said, “he’s gonna tell me when something makes him feel sick and we can avoid all the common allergens in the meantime. It’ll be a bit more expensive, but that’s okay.”

Moonbin sighed. “As long as he’s okay and eating, I don’t care what it costs,” he said. 

Jinwoo reached out and took his boyfriend’s hand in his own. “He’s gonna be fine,” he said, “and we’re gonna be fine too.”

Moonbin glanced up at Jinwoo. “Yeah, we’re gonna be fine,” he said with a small smile. He scooted over on the towel so he was sitting a little closer to his boyfriend. 

“I’m sorry about this morning,” Jinwoo said, “I was being irrational. I know that I need to be less anxious about throwing things away.”

Moonbin shook his head. “No, you were right. I should have never touched your stuff. No matter what it is, how expensive it is, how dangerous it is. If it’s yours, I’m not gonna touch it,” he said. 

“Well, you can touch  _ some  _ of my stuff,” Jinwoo said coyly, raising an eyebrow. 

Moonbin’s eyebrows shot up and he looked over to make sure the boys hadn’t heard. “Are you crazy?” he hissed, “the boys are right there.”

Jinwoo laughed. “They aren’t gonna know what I mean anyway,” he said, “how about that bath tonight?”

Moonbin relaxed. “That sounds really nice. I’m  _ still _ sore from sitting in the car for so long yesterday,” he said, “do you think we could add bubbles? I think that would really round out the mood nicely.”

“We’d probably have to stop and buy bubble bath stuff somewhere, but if you really want to, sure,” Jinwoo said. He was pretty sure hotels didn’t stock that with the toiletries. 

“Maybe not then. We would never use it at home and it would just sit under the sink. Oh well. You’re all that I need for a bath anyway,” Moonbin said.

“I mean, I’m sure the boys would love it at home,” Jinwoo said, “might get them to like bath time more.”

“Oh, probably. Especially Seongwoo,” Moonbin said. He scooted the rest of the way across the towel so he was right next to Jinwoo.

“We’ll grab some if we see it,” Jinwoo decided, “oh, I got sandwiches. Boys! Come eat lunch!”

“Thanks, babe,” Moonbin said, leaning over to kiss Jinwoo’s cheek. Seongwoo scrambled over to the towel, Sanha hot on his heels. They passed out the sandwiches and Moonbin noticed Sanha open his up and start eating everything from the middle, piece by piece. 

“Sanha, does the bread make you feel sick?” Jinwoo asked, noticing how his older nephew was eating. 

Sanha looked down at his sandwich. “Only sometimes,” he said. He picked up one of the pieces and took a bite. It was better to try the bread than to waste it.

“Do special kinds of bread make you feel sick?” Jinwoo asked. He was already making a mental list; eggs, gluten, milk, yeast even. 

Sanha nodded. He took another bite of the roll before putting it down. He was scared to eat anymore of it. Hopefully Moonbin or Jinwoo would finish it. 

“It’s okay, kiddo, you don’t have to eat the bread if you don’t want to,” Jinwoo said, “you just gotta tell me which things you know make you feel yucky, okay?”

Sanha nodded. He finished the middle of the sandwich before crawling into Jinwoo’s lap and curling into a ball. 

Jinwoo ran a hand through Sanha’s hair. He hoped the boy didn’t end up getting sick; he would hate for the trip to end on such a sour note. 

Sanha was content to take a nap right in Jinwoo’s lap. Seongwoo on the other hand was up and ready to finish the castle the minute the last bite of food was gone.

Jinwoo did his best to clean up the sandwiches and reapply some sunblock to Sanha’s skin before he laid down on the towel with the boy cuddled up close. If Sanha wanted to nap, he certainly wasn’t opposed. 

Sanha relaxed when Jinwoo finally laid down. Moonbin moved back over to the castle with Seongwoo, giving his boyfriend and the older boy some peace and quiet to relax. They definitely needed it.

Jinwoo rubbed Sanha’s back absently, talking to the boy quietly to help him fall asleep. They hadn’t really had a moment like this since Seongwoo had arrived and they’d moved in with Bin. Jinwoo vowed, in that moment, to do better by his older nephew. 

Sanha did his best to stay awake so he could listen to Jinwoo, but it didn’t work. Sooner than he wanted, he was fast asleep, a small fist holding onto Jinwoo’s shirt tightly.

It didn’t take much longer after that for Jinwoo to pass out as well. The last thing he did was tug was towel over Sanha so the boy wouldn’t get burnt if the sunscreen wore off.

Moonbin felt bad waking up Sanha and Jinwoo, but they had to get washed up for dinner and Seongwoo was in desperate need of a nap. He was a little bit nervous about dinner, but the boys were absolutely perfect and Moonbin was so happy he got to spoil his boys. Even Sanha ate most of his food without pushing it away. Soon they were all back in the hotel room for their last night. Both boys played in the room for a little while before knocking out next to each other in one of the beds. 

Jinwoo was glad that the rest of the day had gone well. He sat in bed, waiting for Bin to finish up in the bathroom so they could lay down and chat for a while. After everything that had happened over the last two days, especially their fight, he had made a decision and they had some things they needed to talk about. 

Moonbin kissed both boys on the forehead before joining Jinwoo in bed. He wrapped an arm around his boyfriend, but laid facing the boys so he could keep an eye on them.

Jinwoo sighed happily and relaxed into the mattress even more. “They’re such good kids,” he said after a moment. 

Moonbin hummed in agreement. “Sanha actually apologized to you?” he asked. 

“He did,” Jinwoo confirmed, “and we talked about why he wasn’t eating and why he said what he did. Everything’s okay now.”

Moonbin smiled softly. “That’s good,” he mumbled, “hopefully everything will smooth out when we get home and we can focus on finding him a school.”

“Speaking of finding a school,” Jinwoo said slowly, “I’ve been thinking of not renewing my deferment for this upcoming semester.”

Moonbin paused. “Whatever’s best for you, babe. I’m not getting involved in your schooling so whatever you choose to do, I’ll support you completely,” he said. 

“I think you should though,” Jinwoo said, “I’m not going to be able to cover all the costs on my own, especially since I won’t be able to work with it being an accelerated program.”

“Do you remember what happened last time I got involved in your school? It’s not worth it, babe. All you need to do is find a school that makes you happy and that you like and I’ll cover any costs you can’t,” Moonbin said. 

“The Korean Institute of Culinary Excellence at Seoul-Gangnam,” Jinwoo mumbled, “I got accepted after I finished my GED, but then Sanha came and I had to defer it.”

Moonbin’s eyes widened. He hadn’t realized that Jinwoo had been deferring for this long. “I’m glad you’re going now. I think you’ll be a lot happier when you have a job you actually look forward to going to. And I know it’ll be a little tough with finances in the beginning, but we’ll make it work, I promise,” he said. 

“I had a scholarship when I first got accepted, but I’m sure that’s no longer available,” Jinwoo said with a sigh, “I’ll call their finance office when we get home.”

“Everything is gonna work out,” Moonbin said, “and even if you don’t get that scholarship, we can still afford to send you. I promise you, Jinwoo, everything’s gonna be okay. I’m gonna make sure of it.”

“I’m scared,” Jinwoo confessed, “I’m so nervous that I’m not going to be as good as I was five years ago or that something will go wrong and prevent me from going again.”

“They can’t expect you to go in perfect. That’s what school’s for. To work out the kinks and give you the skills you need to be successful. It’s okay if you’re not as good as you were, they’ll understand,” Moonbin said, “and if something goes wrong, we’ll get through it. You have me this time and I’m going to do everything I can to help you finish school.

Jinwoo was nervous but he was also excited. He was actually going to go to school and get his certification and no longer work dead end minimum wage jobs. If everything worked out, that was. 

Moonbin leaned over and kissed Jinwoo’s cheek. “You’re gonna be the best damn chef this city has ever seen. And you’re such an inspiration for the boys. You really are incredible, babe, and I’m so proud of you,” he said. 

“Shut up,” Jinwoo mumbled, embarrassed. His heart couldn’t handle hearing Bin say those things.

Moonbin chuckled quietly. “Make me,” he challenged, “and if you won’t let me say that to you, I’ll just have the boys do it. You won’t tell them to shut up.”

“You doubt me,” Jinwoo joked, “I wouldn’t tell them to shut up, but I can certainly get them to stop saying it.”

“Don’t make me bribe them with sweets,” Moonbin teased, “you know how Sanha gets when he’s on a sugar high.”

Jinwoo rolled his eyes. “You wouldn’t,” he said, “because you know I would kill you if you got them sugar high.”

“You wouldn’t kill me. You love me too much,” Moonbin said easily, “and I would just come back to haunt you anyway so there’s really no point in trying.”

That made Jinwoo laugh. “Whatever helps you sleep at night,” he said.

Moonbin chuckled quietly. “I’m really happy you’re going back to school. I know you’re going to be amazing and soon you’ll have a job with more reasonable hours,” he said, “and the best part is that you have three hungry boys you can practice on to your heart's content.”

“I’ve wanted to for a really long time,” Jinwoo admitted, “but I was just so anxious about the finances of it.”

“I know, baby, and that’s okay,” Moonbin said gently, “but now we’ve got it all figured out and you can actually enjoy school.”

“Yeah, I hope so,” Jinwoo said, “I’m not gonna put in my two weeks until I know for sure about the scholarship.”

“That’s fine. And if they don’t have that scholarship, I’m sure they have something else for you,” Moonbin assured, “and we can even look around for some local ones too if you want.” 

Jinwoo nodded. They were going to figure this out he was finally going to be able to do what he wanted with his life. 

“Get some rest. We have a big day of travelling tomorrow,” Moonbin said. He sat up to steal a real kiss before settling down to get some sleep. 

Jinwoo turned so he could settle more comfortably into Moonbin’s arms. He wasn’t ready for this trip to be over but he was glad that they’d taken the time off for it. 

Moonbin was less than thrilled to be heading home the following morning, but hopefully they could do something like this one more time before Jinwoo started school. They still had to get Sanha to the doctor and look into schools, but he knew the boy would be more than happy as long as he was with Minhyuk. Both boys were also not excited to be back home, but the promise of more beach trips was enough to convince them to play inside for the afternoon. 

Jinwoo was a little happy to be home. Hopefully, all the drama that had happened on the trip would stay there. They didn’t need any more of those problems. The day after they got back, he called around to find an allergist that would take Sanha and to inquire about his scholarship. Like he thought, he no longer had access to it, but the finance office did put him onto a list of scholarships for older and returning students. 

The worst part about being back home was going back to work. Moonbin really did enjoy his job, but he hated only being able to see Jinwoo for a few hours at night. Hopefully that would change when he started school.

Jinwoo applied to as many scholarships as he felt he qualified for. Unfortunately, that meant writing out his situation a bunch of different times, but he found he wasn’t too upset about that.

One night when Jinwoo was hunched over his computer, Moonbin wandered up behind him and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. “How’s it going?” he asked quietly. 

“I just finished the last application,” Jinwoo said, leaning back into Moonbin’s chest, “now we just wait.”

“Good,” Moonbin said with a smile, “now you can relax and actually enjoy the rest of your night.” 

Jinwoo knew he wouldn’t relax until he had responses on all of his applications, but he didn’t say that. “Now I have to work on the application for Sanha,” he said. 

“Do you want any help?” Moonbin asked. He couldn’t believe Sanha was already big enough to go to school. 

“No, I think I’m okay,” Jinwoo said, “I’m thinking we should keep Seongwoo at the community center for one more year to help balance the tuitions.”

Moonbin nodded. “I think that’s a good idea. He’s still so young, another year there would be good for him before he starts school,” he said. 

“Well, it would be good for him to have some preschool, but we’ll see how Sanha does before we make a decision,” Jinwoo said. He knew moving from a low income community center to a higher income elementary school with no stepping stone might be a tough transition.

“He’s gonna be three, babe, we have plenty of time to get him to preschool,” Moonbin said, “he’s gonna be okay, I promise.”

“I just don’t want him to fall behind,” Jinwoo said, “Sanha’s going into school with a heavy disadvantage.”

“He’s not gonna fall behind,” Moonbin promised, “and neither is Sanha. Let him be a kid for one more year before you stick him in school. And if you’re that worried, I’m sure we can find workbook pages or something online.”

Jinwoo hummed and nodded, pulling up the application page for Minhyuk’s school on the laptop. “I just want what’s best for them,” he said softly. 

“I know, and we’re gonna do what’s best for them,” Moonbin said, “trust me. The boys are gonna be just fine.” He kissed Jinwoo’s cheek for more reassurance. 

Jinwoo sighed and nodded. He knew that. “Let’s go to bed,” he decided, carefully closing the laptop. 

Moonbin wrapped an arm around Jinwoo and happily led him down the hallway to bed. “We’ll take care of Sanha’s application first thing tomorrow and I’ll look online for some ways to help make sure Seongwoo isn’t behind with anything,” he said. 

“Thank you, babe,” Jinwoo said as he let himself be guided to bed, “hopefully, we’ll be able to get all of this stuff moving soon.”

“Once we get your tuitions ironed out, everything will be smooth sailing. But you don’t need to worry your pretty little head about that until we hear back about some scholarships,” Moonbin said. He pulled Jinwoo against himself and all but trapped his boyfriend to the bed.

Jinwoo sighed and nodded. It was all out of his hands now. Fortunately, Sanha’s school application got approved easily the next week, and Jinwoo managed to amass enough in scholarship to actually put in his two weeks and start going to school. Everything seemed to be looking up. 

Moonbin was more than thrilled when Jinwoo started school. He begged his boyfriend to tell him every little detail of his day when he got home. Sanha was set to start school soon and now that they had a better idea of what foods to look out for, Moonbin was a lot less nervous. 

Jinwoo couldn’t have been prouder of Sanha when he started school and seemed to be doing well. His own classes were pretty difficult, but he enjoyed them a lot. Everything seemed great, until it all went to shit. 

Of everyone, Seongwoo was the slowest to adjust to the changes. He missed his brother during the day, but he still had plenty of friends to play with at the community center. It made going to work everyday a little more bearable for Moonbin now that he knew his boys were happy. Today was just another typical, boring Tuesday. Well at least that's how it started out. 

The commotion wasn’t evident at first. It looked like just another board meeting of executives and suited investors, except that the investors were actually detectives and, after surreptitiously collecting the evidence they needed, they escorted all the executives out in cuffs. The entire office was buzzing and no one was working, not knowing what was happening. Finally, a small but clearly confident man called everyone into the boardroom to address them. “My name is Kim Myungjun,” he said, “I am a representative from the factory workers’ union. This is Agent Park Seoham, he’s an investigator with the Department of Labor. The factories were raided this morning on reports that they had returned to their previous violative conditions and at this time, everyone in an executive position has been arrested for egregious violations of human rights. You will all be placed on paid leave until the investigations are complete and new leadership is instated. Any questions can be directed to myself or Agent Park.”

Moonbin’s eyes widened. His gaze flicked back and forth between Myungjun and the agent beside him. He couldn’t believe the factories had gone back to the way there were. They had fought so hard to fix everything and now he was going on paid leave because it didn’t work. While everyone was busy whispering to each other, Moonbin made his way over to Myungjun. “How did this happen?” he asked. 

“I’m sorry, I can’t disclose much right now,” Myungjun said apologetically, “we’ve been collecting evidence for a while now, we just needed to get them to admit on record that they knew and were ignoring or enforcing it. We’re going to be entering negotiations with some of the investors now to properly compensate anyone who wants to leave and anyone willing to stay.”

“You’ve been collecting evidence for a while?” Moonbin asked, slightly shocked, “but you’re supposed to be overseeing the factories. Couldn’t this have been fixed long before it got this bad?”

“There was a loophole in the contract,” Myungjun said, “I can’t explain it here, but if you ask Jinwoo at home, he can tell you.”

“Jinwoo knows about this?” Moonbin asked, “you told him about all of this and didn’t tell me too?” More than that he couldn’t believe Jinwoo didn’t say anything to him.

“We couldn’t risk it getting out at all,” Myungjun said, “Jinwoo felt really bad that he had to keep it from you and I know you wouldn’t have said anything, but we couldn’t take any risks at all. It could have compromised everything.”

Moonbin ran his hand through his hair. “Yeah, I get it,” he said airily, “well, I better get going. There’s really no point in sticking around.”

“I’ll be in touch with more details soon,” Myungjun promised, “there should be some security in the hallway, you can have them escort you to your car. The press is already here and we’d prefer that no one say anything until we’ve made an official statement.”

Moonbin nodded once before taking his leave from the room. He didn’t even bother asking how Minhyuk was doing. He was way too annoyed and just wanted to get home. After packing up everything he would need, he asked security to escort him down to his car, keeping his head down the whole way. 

Jinwoo had picked Sanha and Seongwoo up on his way home from class and was in the midst of making dinner when Moonbin got home. “How was your day?” he called. 

Moonbin scoffed. “You already know,” he said, not hiding how annoyed he was very well, “I’m going to take a shower.”

“I...don’t?” Jinwoo said, confused. How was he supposed to know what had happened at work if Bin didn’t tell him?

Moonbin paused in the doorway of the kitchen. “Myungjun’s little stunt happened today, but you know more about that than I do. So that’s how my day went,” he said. He turned to walk down the hallway.

Jinwoo cursed internally. He figured he would let Moonbin cool off in the shower then try and talk to him. He hadn’t realized the raid would be happening so soon. 

Moonbin took a long shower, letting the water carry all of the anger he felt away. He was still annoyed when he got out, but he couldn’t take that out on the boys.

Jinwoo had finished dinner by the time Bin got out of the shower and had collected the boys. They were all waiting at the table for Bin to join them.

Moonbin sighed when he walked back into the kitchen. “How was your day at school, Sanha?” he asked. 

“Good!” the boy said, kicking his feet happily, “I got to play with Minhyuk during recess today!”

Moonbin smiled softly. “That’s great! Maybe one day after school, he can come spend the afternoon here so you boys can play more,” he said. 

“Please, Jinsam?” Sanha begged, turning to his uncle, who smiled. “I’ll talk to his dad about it,” he promised.

“And how was your day today, Seongie?” Moonbin asked. He reached over and ruffled the younger boy’s hair to get his attention. 

Seongwoo pouted, poking at his dinner. “Missed you,” he mumbled.

“You missed me?” Moonbin asked, a little surprised, “do you want to stay home with me tomorrow?” Since he had nothing else to do, it would be nice to have a day alone with the toddler. 

Seongwoo nodded still pouting. “Missed Jinsam and Sanha hyung too,” he said, hoping they could stay home too. 

“Jinsam and Sanha have to go to school tomorrow, but they’ll be home all weekend to play with you,” Moonbin promised, “we’ll do something super fun tomorrow though. Maybe we’ll take a walk to the park.”

Seongwoo pouted more but nodded. Binnie was fun too, he guessed. “Wish I could go to school,” he said. 

Moonbin sighed. They couldn’t put Seongwoo in school yet. Not when it was up in the air when he would go back to work, let alone if he’d even have a job by the time all of this was over. “You’re still too little to go to school, but you can go soon. You can still go to the community center though,” he said. 

“Wanna go to school, Binnie,” Seongwoo whined, “I’m big!”

Moonbin sighed. He was not going to argue with a three year old tonight. “After Christmas, okay? We have to get you ready if you want to go to school,” he said. 

“Promise?” Seongwoo asked, looking up at Moonbin with his best and biggest puppy eyes. 

Moonbin looked down at Seongwoo and knew there was no way he could say no to the boy. “I promise,” he finally agreed. Maybe it was time to start looking for a new job. 

Jinwoo watched Seongwoo and Moonbin closely. Hopefully, this was a promise that Seongwoo would forget about as he got used to Sanha being at school.

Moonbin didn’t want to send Seongwoo to school so young, but if the boy insisted there was nothing he could do. Jinwoo had the final say in everything anyway so at least there was that. He excused himself from dinner early, opting to go lay in bed. The one thing he hated about the apartment was not having anywhere to go when he needed to be alone. 

Jinwoo got the boys to finish their dinner before cleaning them up and tucking them into bed. Once he had the dishes cleaned up as well, he went into his own bedroom and laid down next to Bin. 

Moonbin stayed facing the wall when Jinwoo came in. He kept quiet, not having anything to say anyway. It was obvious he didn’t want to talk about what happened and he hoped Jinwoo didn’t push it. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” Jinwoo said with a soft sigh, “Myungjun had asked me to come in and tell him everything that they had been doing before and what the best ways to get people to talk would be. He made me sign an NDA and everything.”

Moonbin simply hummed. This whole thing could have been avoided if things had been done differently, but obviously that was too much to ask for. 

“I’m sorry about your job,” Jinwoo continued, “I know things are probably all up in the air right now, but I promise it’ll be alright. You’re so smart and talented. Even if the company goes under, you’ll be okay.”

“It’s not about me being okay, it’s about us being okay. And yeah, I can look for new jobs now, but it’s so suspicious if I leave in the middle of this. I’m fucked no matter what I do and I can only hope I don’t lose my job,” Moonbin said. He had made promises to help Jinwoo and Sanha with school and he intended to keep them.

“I doubt you’ll be the only person wanting to leave,” Jinwoo said, “you’re not an executive, you have no power to make the changes or decisions that were needed, there’s absolutely nothing to make you or anyone else leaving seem suspicious.”

“Yeah, so even if I get out, it’ll be great walking up to a new company with this as my work experience and this mess following me around everywhere. I might look anyway but I doubt I’ll get any offers,” Moonbin said. 

“Bin, the mess has nothing to do with you,” Jinwoo said, “the work you did there was still valid, and the fact that you did try to advocate for the workers and are the reason they even were able to unionize to begin with will probably help you a lot.”

“But I’m still caught up in it. Especially now that they’re investigating the whole company. It would have been better to leave earlier, but what did I know,” Moonbin muttered. 

“They’re not investigating the whole company,” Jinwoo said, “they’re investigating the people in power, the people with the power to determine how the factories were going to run. That’s not you. You’re  _ fine _ , baby.”

“Those people got walked out in handcuffs today. There’s nothing more to investigate with them,” Moonbin said, growing more and more frustrated, “and if I was fine, I wouldn’t be on paid fucking leave.”

“ _ Everyone’s  _ on paid leave,” Jinwoo reminded him, “because there’s currently no one in charge of your company and they don’t know how far into the investor pool this goes. There’s also not going to be anything for your department to do because the factories are shut down until further notice. It’s not a paid disciplinary leave.”

Moonbin took a deep breath. “Yeah, I get it, but it’s still fucking me over. Hell, it might fuck us over, but you don’t seem worried about that so I don’t know why I am. Who knows, maybe I’ll love home life and decide to be a stay at home dad for the rest of my life,” he snarked. 

“If that’s what you want to do,” Jinwoo said calmly, “my schooling is all paid for by scholarships, my savings can handle Sanha’s tuition, and yours can take care of the groceries and rent and gas if we need it too. We’ll be okay, Bin. You think I didn’t already do the math for this? With how anxious I am? I did it the second Junnie told me.”

Moonbin rolled his eyes. Of course Jinwoo had everything all figured out. “You missed Seongwoo’s school,” he mumbled, “but that doesn’t matter right now anyway.” He had a pounding headache and was not motivated in the slightest to get up and take something for it so hopefully he could sleep it off. 

“Seongwoo’s school is something we can figure out when we get to it, which probably won’t be this year,” Jinwoo said, “but even so, I did the calculations back when I thought we would be sending him this year, so that is actually factored in.”

Moonbin hummed again. There was no point in worrying about money when Jinwoo had that under control. For now he just had to worry about himself and that meant falling asleep as soon as possible. He didn’t care how early it was, he just needed to go to sleep so today could be over. 

“I promise it’ll be okay,” Jinwoo said softly, wrapping himself around Bin’s back and kissing the back of his shoulder. “Get some sleep, babe.”

Moonbin tensed up when Jinwoo wrapped around his back. He had never been more grateful for Jinwoo’s size before now, it meant that his touch wouldn’t be too overwhelming. Eventually he was actually able to fall asleep, albeit not a very restful one.

Jinwoo wished he had been able to tell Bin about this. His boyfriend would have been able to get a new job long ago and wouldn’t be stuck with all this on his back. He understood why Myungjun hadn’t let him, but it still sucked. 

It took Moonbin a minute to register a much smaller body wrapped around his back when he woke up. He carefully turned around and pulled Seongwoo against himself. “Morning, baby,” he mumbled. 

Jinwoo had put Seongwoo in with Bin when he and Sanha had left in the morning. Hopefully, the bright toddler could help cheer his boyfriend up.

“What do you want to do today?” Moonbin asked. If it was up to him they’d lay in bed all day, but he knew the toddler would never go for that.

“Snuggle then play?” Seongwoo suggested. Binnie looked really sad and tired and Seongwoo knew what that felt like, so he wanted to do the things that he knew made him less sad and tired. 

“Sure, baby, whatever you wanna do,” Moonbin said, “before we play, I’ll make you some pancakes for breakfast. Does that sound good?” 

Seongwoo nodded and clung tightly to Binnie’s arm. He liked pancakes, even if Sanha hyung said they were yucky. 

Moonbin rubbed Seongwoo’s back with his free hand. “What’s going on, baby? You’re never this quiet in the morning,” he commented. 

“Seongie make Binnie no sad,” Seongwoo said in his best cute voice, just like Jinsam did for him.

Moonbin’s chest tightened. Of course the toddler would pick up on his shitty mood. That wasn’t fair at all. “Thanks, Seongie,” he said quietly, “I love you a lot.”

“Love you too, Binnie,” Seongwoo said, hugging Bin tightly before gasping. “Can Seongie call Binnie Binsam? Like Jinsam?”

Moonbin chewed on his lip. Jinwoo probably wasn’t going to like this, but how was he supposed to explain to the toddler that he wasn’t actually his uncle. “Sure you can,” he said hesitantly, “but what’s wrong with Binnie? Do you not like it anymore?

“Jinsam and Binsam same!” Seongwoo exclaimed, “need to match!” It made perfect sense in his head. Jinsam and Binnie were both his dads and their names rhymed, so they needed to match. 

Moonbin exhaled slowly. “Alright, baby, I can be Binsam,” he agreed. He just had to hope Sanha didn’t pick up on the new name too. “Let’s go make those pancakes so we can play.” Hopefully the distraction would be enough for the toddler to forget about the new name. 

Seongwoo bounced up with a smile, tugging his Binsam out of bed and toward the kitchen. “Seongie help,” he declared. 

“Alright, you can help me mix,” Moonbin said with a laugh, “but I’ll cook them ‘cause the stove gets very hot. He set up Seongwoo on a stool and grabbed all the ingredients they would need.

Jinwoo’s professor pulled him aside during the break. “Is everything okay, Mr, Park?” she asked, “you’re normally very focused and efficient.” Jinwoo sighed. “My partner works for Astro Auto Parts so things are a little tense at home at the moment. I promise I’ll be more focused from now on.”

Thanks to Seongwoo’s help they had the batter mixed and the first ones just came off the griddle. Moonbin set the toddler up at the table with a cut up pancake and some syrup and got back to cooking the rest of them.

“Head home early,” she said, “the rest of the class today is just going to be a refresher on knife techniques, which you don’t need any help with.”

Moonbin left the dirty dishes in the sink to soak and whisked Seongwoo into the living room to play. Soon, he was surrounded by toys and a giggling toddler who was bouncing around so fast he could barely keep up. 

“I’m home!” Jinwoo called as he stepped inside. He knew Bin and Seongwoo were still home, since Bin’s car was in the parking lot, so he made a beeline for where he could hear them playing. 

Moonbin checked the time on his phone and was surprised that Jinwoo was home so early. He hoped something didn’t happen at class, but he didn’t have time to worry right away as a very excited Seongwoo had his uncle occupied already.

Jinwoo scooped Seongwoo up, smiling as the toddler babbled at him. “So you had a good day?” he asked when the boy finally took a breath.

Seongwoo nodded. “I help Binsam feel better!” he said. Moonbin chewed on his lip and glanced up at Jinwoo from his spot on the floor.

“Binsam, huh? That’s cute,” Jinwoo said, “and is Binsam feeling better now?”

Moonbin cleared his throat. “Yeah, I’m feeling better,” he said, “but are you okay? Did something happen at class?”

Jinwoo shrugged. “The chef noticed I was kind of distracted and sent me home because apparently I don’t really need any extra knife practice. Or at least, missing a day won’t hurt me.” 

Moonbin knew this had to because of him and now he felt even more guilty. “Seongie, why don’t you see if Jinsam wants to play superheroes with you?” he suggested. 

“Both play!” Seongwoo insisted, just before yawning, “Binsam too!” “I think it’s actually naptime, kiddo,” Jinwoo said. 

“We can all play after you take a nap,” Moonbin said, “and then we can all go get Sanha from school.”

Seongwoo pouted but didn’t protest. Jinwoo carried him into his and Sanha’s room. He had just gotten the boy down and asleep when Bin’s phone rang in the other room. 

Moonbin didn’t know who would be calling him now, especially considering he had nothing to do for work. He answered the phone regardless, hoping it was some good news about the investigations. 

“Bin? We have a major problem,” Myungjun said hurriedly, “the press somehow found out about the investigation into you and Jinwoo last time. We’re going to handle it, you won’t have to do anything, but you may want to get Sanha from school now, before they manage to find your address and start harassing you.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Moonbin growled. He put his wallet in his pocket and snagged his keys off of the counter. “I swear to God, Myungjun, if this starts affecting my family, you’re gonna have a bigger problem on your hands than your fucking investigation,” he said as he got his shoes on. 

“I’m doing what I can, Bin, but I can’t control the press. We’re going to make a statement that you and Jinwoo weren’t together at the time of the investigation, that he quit because he couldn’t afford to not be making money, and that you stepped back from the factories because the union was handling it and your job was being threatened. If they continue to come after you after that, we’ll file harassment claims.” He took a deep breath. “Would you guys be willing to grab Minhyuk as well? I can’t get away at the moment, his mother’s out of town, and I’m worried about sending him home alone.”

Moonbin sighed. He hated how the press always managed to get information they didn’t need and blow it out of proportion. “Yeah, I can get Minhyuk. I’m going right now and I’ll text you when I get both boys home,” he said, much more gently than before.

“Thank you,” Myungjun said, relieved, “I’ll call the school and Jinwoo. He should probably get out early if he can. He’s a lot more likely to get ambushed than the kids.”

“Jinwoo’s already home. He got out of class early today. I’m gonna go get the boys alone and I’ll be back home as soon as I can,” Moonbin said. He was just about to walk out the door when he realized he should probably let Jinwoo know where he was going. 

“Thank you, Bin, I’m really sorry about all of this. The press conference is in an hour and then hopefully you guys should be fine,” Myungjun said before hurriedly saying goodbye so he could call the school and get back to work. This had all turned into a different kind of fiasco from what they needed. 

“Hey, Jinwoo,” he called, “I have to go get Sanha and Minhyuk. I’ll be right back. And if anyone other than Myungjun or Dongmin calls you, don’t answer it.” He did one last check to make sure he had everything he needed. 

Jinwoo nodded, having just received a lengthy text from Myungjun. “Be careful, please,” he said, “text me when you have the boys, okay?”

“Yeah, I will,” Moonbin promised. He left the apartment and quickly made his way to the school. The boys were already waiting for him in the front office when he got there and he put on his best smile so he didn’t scare them. “Are you boys excited to go home and play?” he asked as he signed them out. 

Sanha nodded, clinging onto Minhyuk tightly. He didn’t get to see his best friend all that often anymore, so he was excited for their impromptu play date. 

Moonbin smiled when he saw Sanha nod. “Alright, boys let’s go,” he said. He didn’t miss the look the secretary shot him and he was all too happy to be leaving the school. He sent Jinwoo a text that he had the boys and off they headed for home. 

Jinwoo wouldn’t be able to calm down until Bin and the boys were safe at home. In the meantime, he had turned on the news to listen to exactly what they were saying, and it wasn’t pretty. 

Moonbin drove home a lot slower, purely because he had the boys in the back seat, but they were all home soon enough. He ushered the boys upstairs, asking them to be quiet for a little bit because Seongwoo was sleeping, and sent a text to Myungjun. He frowned when he heard the news and did his best to talk over it so they boys wouldn’t ask questions if they heard his or Jinwoo’s names. 

Jinwoo turned the volume on the TV down when the boys got home and sent them to play quietly in his and Bin’s room until Seongwoo woke up. “I don’t even know how they came up with any of this stuff,” he said to Bin, referring to the report. The reporters were somehow twisting the story to blame him and Bin for the conditions because he had left and Bin had pulled back from the overhaul instead of them both staying involved and keeping the bosses accountable. Hopefully, Myungjun could fix this. 

“Leave it to the media to twist everything. And now we look like assholes and they aren’t even talking about any of the executives that are actually responsible for this,” Moonbin said angrily, “and on top of it we’re stuck in our house and I really can’t get a new job. Myungjun needs to do something about this soon.”

“The press conference is gonna start in a few minutes,” Jinwoo said, pulling Bin to sit down next to him and rubbing his boyfriend’s hands soothingly, “let’s hope that fixes everything.”

Moonbin exhaled shakily. “Yeah, let’s hope,” he mumbled. He didn’t want to listen to the press conference, but it was better to just get it over with.

A few minutes later, Myungjun was taking the podium. “The factory workers’ union and the Department of Labor are calling this press conference to address some misreports that are spreading false information about our investigation and some employees of Astro Auto Parts Supplier. Firstly, we would like to address the reports about Moon Bin and Park Jinwoo. Mr. Moon is a current employee of Astro Auto Parts and is the one who originally brought the violations to our attention three years ago. He is the sole reason that the union was able to get involved at Astro at all and we thank him greatly for that. Mr. Park is a former employee of one of the Astro factories who was promoted to a foreman position before being placed on leave and subsequently resigning, three years ago. Both men were subjects of an internal investigation, following the union crackdown, into possible collusion, which we believe was designed to oust one or both of them from the company. Mr. Park was placed on unpaid suspension and Mr. Moon’s job was placed under threat. The company believed that they were seeing each other and that this had all been a conspiracy to get Mr. Park promoted. This is false. While Mr. Park was promoted on Mr. Moon’s recommendation, his skills, dedication, and leadership ability were also taken into account in a hiring decision that was made by the union, not by the company or by Mr. Moon, who is a shipping manager and has no hiring capabilities. Additionally, although both gentlemen are together now, they were not seeing each other at the time and did not start seeing each other until many months after Mr. Park’s departure from the company. A number of opinion reports are stating that, had Park Jinwoo not left Astro and had Moon Bin not taken a step back from the overhaul, that Astro’s conditions would not have deteriorated again. This is resolutely false. Park Jinwoo was in his position as a foreman for less than a week when he was placed on unpaid leave, which he could not afford financially. He resigned to take a better paying job in order to support himself and his nephew. Moon Bin did not have the authority to be involved in the overhaul decisions and found his own position under threat if he continued to be involved. We as investigators thank him for his help during the initial investigations and do not fault him for pulling back to maintain his position, as we all believed at the time that the conditions were better and that they would hold. We would ask that the news outlets refrain from publishing stories that push the blame for the egregious human rights violation found in Astro’s factories onto anyone but the executives who approved and enforced them. Thank you.” He stepped back from the microphone and Seoham stepped up. “We understand that this country maintains a freedom of the press, but we believe that there is no reason to be questioning any Astro employees or their family members except those that have been indicted. Many Astro employees, union employees, and Department of Labor employees have young children and we will be filing claims of harassment against any member of the press found speaking with, questioning, or following anyone employed by Astro, the factory union, or the DOL that is not myself, Mr. Kim, or an Astro investor or executive. Thank you. We will be taking no questions at this time.”

Moonbin sank into the couch. Hopefully the press would drop the rumors they were trying to spread and focus on the actual issue at hand. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and texted Myungjun a long appreciative text for defending them. “Hopefully everything will quiet down now,” he whispered. 

“I hope so,” Jinwoo said, “let him know that he and the DOL guy are welcome here for dinner if they manage to get out of there any time soon. If he’s gonna be really late, we can also keep Minhyuk overnight and send him to school in the morning.”

Moonbin nodded and relayed the message to Myungjun. When it was sent he tossed his phone to the side. “I’m really sorry about everything. I can get the boys to school no problem tomorrow. I can even go with you to your classes if you want,” he offered. 

“You just focus on the boys,” Jinwoo said, “I can handle myself. The school buildings are all card access anyway.”

“Alright. Just let me know if anyone gives you a problem,” Moonbin said, even though he knew Jinwoo wouldn’t. He tipped his head back against the couch and let out a long sigh. Everything was an absolute nightmare and he hoped they were reaching the tail end of it. 

“I will,” Jinwoo promised, “we’re going to be fine, Bin, I can just feel it.”

Moonbin nodded and closed his eyes. “I hope so,” he murmured. He squeezed Jinwoo’s hand gently. They had to be okay. He had promised them they would be okay and he couldn’t let that fall to pieces because of some stupid news stations. 

“C’mon, what do you say we start looking online for a new place for you?” Jinwoo suggested. The earlier they got started, the earlier Bin would be able to get out of there.

“Not right now,” Moonbin said, forcing himself to stand up, “I’m gonna see if the boys are hungry and once everyone’s asleep tonight I’ll start looking for places.” He just wanted to forget about work for a little while. 

“Alright,” Jinwoo said agreeably. He grabbed Moonbin’s phone from where he left it and saw that Myungjun had asked them to keep Minhyuk for the night because he and Seoham would be working pretty late to clean all the reports up. “I’ll grab some extra pajamas and bedding for Minhyuk,” he said, handing Bin his phone and getting up.

Moonbin pocketed his phone and walked down the hallway to find the boys. “Hey, what do you boys think about having a sleepover tonight?” he asked. He smiled when he was met with excited cheers. Next he went to check on Seongwoo and found the sleepy toddler sitting up in bed and rubbing his eyes. 

Jinwoo headed into the kitchen to get started on dinner. Over the next few days, everything finally seemed to blow over and calm down. Bin was still on paid leave, which wasn’t great, but it just made it all the more important to find a new job.

Moonbin had been scouring the internet for anything he could find, but it wasn’t much. He had even sent in a couple of applications, but he wasn’t going to get his hopes up. Most importantly everything had calmed down and no one was bothering Jinwoo or the boys. 

“Hey, Bin, what do you think about this?” Jinwoo asked, sliding his phone over the table. “Small business, looking for someone experienced with shipping and inventory to work as a product and purchasing manager, flexible schedule, and more than you’re making now,” he read off. 

Moonbin took the phone and glanced at the job description. It was almost too good to be true. “I can try, but I doubt a small company is gonna want all the drama I’d bring,” he said sadly. 

Jinwoo rolled his eyes. Bin wasn’t the one with the drama, but he didn’t seem to realize it. “Not with that attitude they won’t,” he said, “c’mon this sounds perfect for you.”

Moonbin sighed. “Yeah, I can put in an application and we’ll see what happens,” he said. He pulled up the website on his laptop and got to work filling out the application. “All set,” he said when he finally hit submit. 

“Alright, I think that’s enough for today,” Jinwoo said, getting up, “c’mon, it’s a nice weekend, we should take the boys somewhere.”

Moonbin closed his laptop. “The park?” he suggested, “I don’t think it’s quite warm enough to bring them to the pool.” 

“What if we took them to Namsan?” Jinwoo asked, “they would love the tram and there’s food and stuff up there.”

“Oh, a little day trip? That would be fun. They won’t say no to anything we suggest though, so I’m sure they’ll be excited,” Moonbin said. 

“Boys!” Jinwoo called, listening for the sound of feet in the hallway, “how do you feel about going on a trip today?”

Sanha yelled excitedly. He bounced his way over to Jinwoo. “A trip! All day? Where, where, where?” he asked. 

“Most of the day,” Jinwoo said, “we’re gonna go to Namsan Tower! Does that sound fun?”

“A tower,” Sanha said, awestruck, “and we can climb it?” 

“Kind of,” Jinwoo said with a laugh, “you’ll see when we get there. Shoes and coats!”

“Come on, Seongie, we’re going to a tower!” Sanha said, dragging his brother over to their shoes, “maybe there’s a dragon that lives there.” 

Jinwoo laughed and bent over to grab his own shoes. “You guys have to be really good though, there’s going to be a lot of people there,” he said. 

Sanha looked up at Jinwoo with big eyes. “Lots of people? Will we get lost?” he asked nervously. 

“Not if you stay close to me and Binnie,” Jinwoo said. “Binsam,” Seongwoo corrected. “Right, sorry. Stay close to me and Binsam,” Jinwoo said. 

Sanha peered up at Moonbin curiously. “Binsam?” he asked. “That’s what your brother calls me now so Jinsam and I match,” Moonbin explained, “you can still call me Binnie, it’s okay.” He grabbed a small bag and packed it with some snacks and waters for the car ride. 

Once they were all packed into the car and ready to go, Jinwoo finally relaxed a bit. This was going to be a good day, with no worrying about jobs or finances or school. Just a fun family outing. 

Moonbin was glad the drive wasn’t that long. Both toddlers were antsy and ready to explore a new place after being cooped up in the house. 

When they parked at the base of the mountain, Jinwoo quickly got both boys out of their car seats and kept them near the car until Bin was ready. They had to go up the tram first, so he led the boys in that direction. 

When they got to the tram, Moonbin scooped up Seongwoo and set the boy on his hip. “I know you wanna run around but there’s too many people here. I’ll put you down when we get to the top,” he bargained when Seongwoo whined unhappily. 

Jinwoo held Sanha’s hand tightly, fussing with the boy’s messy hair. When they finally got in a car, he let Sanha plaster himself to the window to watch their ride up.

Moonbin stood just behind Jinwoo so he could keep an eye on his boys. He made sure that Seongwoo had a good view out of the window. The toddler seemed to forget all about wanting to be on the ground when they started moving. 

The ride up was a bit of a long one but the boys seemed to enjoy it. There were still quite a few stairs once they got off the tram, but there were at least food stalls and vendors to distract the boys. 

Moonbin steered his family over to the food trucks. “Do you boys want to share a potato tornado?” he asked. “What’s that?” Sanha asked. “I’ll show you,” he said. He walked up to the cart and bought two tornadoes. One he handed off to Jinwoo and the other, he showed the boys how to eat. 

Jinwoo munched idly on the top few spirals of the potato before handing it back to Bin. “Is it yummy?” he asked Seongwoo. 

Seongwoo nodded. “So yummy!” he said through a mouthful of food. “Careful, baby, you don’t want to choke,” Moonbin said gently. 

Jinwoo smiled and ruffled Seongwoo’s hair. “C’mon, we’re almost at the top,” he said.

When Sanha took the stick back, Seongwoo grabbed Jinwoo’s hand and pulled him forward. Sanha did his best to keep up with them, but Moonbin stopped that quickly. “You don’t want to run with that in your hand. We’ll catch up to them I promise,” Moonbin said. 

Jinwoo let Seongwoo pull him up the rest of the stairs and they waited for Bin and Sanha at the top. 

Moonbin took the empty stick from Sanha and let the boy run over to his brother. “Alright, boys, where to first?” he asked. 

“Why don’t we go up to the observatory first then try and find some food?” Jinwoo suggested, taking the stick from Bin to throw in the trash. 

“I’ll race you,” Sanha said to Seongwoo before taking off. “No, Sanha, we’re not racing,” Moonbin called, rushing after the boy. 

Jinwoo sighed and took Seongwoo’s hand. “You have to stay close to me and Binsam, okay?” he said, “otherwise you’ll get lost.”

Moonbin grabbed Sanha and pulled the boy into his arms. “You can’t run off like that. We don’t want to lose you,” he said. 

Sanha pouted but let Moonbin carry him back to his uncle and cousin. Together, they made their way up to the observation deck.

Moonbin set Sanha down after he made the boy promise not to run off again. He stood next to Jinwoo and let the fingers intertwine. “It’s a really nice day out,” he said. 

“It really is,” Jinwoo agreed, “we should get the boys locks to put on the wall.”

“Do you want one too?” Moonbin asked hesitantly. He knew the boys would be ecstatic for locks but he wasn’t sure about his boyfriend.

“Yeah, that would be cute,” Jinwoo said with a smile, “I’m sure the boys would insist we get our own anyway.”

“Speaking of the boys,” Moonbin began quietly, “they don’t have to call me Binsam if you don’t want. Seongwoo insisted and I really didn’t want to explain that it’s not the same.”

“No, I think it’s cute!” Jinwoo said, “unless you don’t want them to call you that, ‘cause I can get them to stop.”

“No, no, I really like that actually, but I just didn’t want you to get mad at them. Sanha might not want to, but Seongwoo doesn’t really know the difference since I’ve been around since you got him,” Moonbin said. 

“Pretty sure he thinks we’re actually his parents and they both think they’re actually brothers,” Jinwoo said, “that’s gonna be a mess to explain.”

Moonbin chuckled quietly. “It’s not so bad for him to think they’re actually brothers, but you might need to explain we aren’t his parents. That might need to wait ‘til he’s a little bit bigger though,” he said. 

“Yeah, I’m not rushing that one,” Jinwoo said with a small laugh. “Boys, c’mon! Let’s go into the gift shop!”

Both boys turned around and bounced over to Jinwoo. Sanha latched onto one of his uncle’s hands and Seongwoo pouted when he couldn’t hold the other one. Moonbin reluctantly let go, but it was definitely worth it for Seongwoo’s bright smile. 

Jinwoo held both of his babies’ hands, swinging them gently as they all headed toward the shop. “You guys wanna go pick out your own locks?” he asked, crouching down to their level.

“Wanna red one!” Seongwoo demanded. Moonbin chuckled and grabbed a couple red locks that he found and held them out for the younger boy to choose from. “What are they for?” Sanha asked. 

“You get to write wishes on them and lock them on the wall outside,” Jinwoo said. He lifted Sanha up so the boy could see into the bins and let him point out the one he wanted. 

“I can wish for anything?” Sanha asked curiously. He grabbed a purple lock and held onto it tightly. 

Jinwoo set Sanha back down once he had a lock. “Yeah, we’ll write the wishes on the back and lock them up,” he said. 

Seongwoo picked one of the locks that Moonbin showed him and turned back to Jinwoo. “Help me?” he asked. Meanwhile Moonbin snagged a green lock for Jinwoo. 

“Of course, kiddo,” Jinwoo said, taking both of the boys’ locks so he could pay for them. “What color do you want, Binsam?”

Moonbin felt his cheeks flush slightly. “I already grabbed one,” he said, holding up the green lock.

“Alright, which one should I get then?” Jinwoo mused, “Seongie? Any thoughts?”

“No, this one is for you,” Moonbin said, holding the lock out for his boyfriend, “I don’t need one.”

“We’re supposed to lock them together,” Jinwoo said, “that’s the whole point.”

“Fine, I’ll get...,” Moonbin turned back towards the locks, “a blue one.” He grabbed the lock and handed both of them to Jinwoo. 

Jinwoo took them both and carried all the locks over to the counter. He paid for them and led the little group outside, grabbing a marker on his way.

Moonbin waited until all of his boys had written on their locks before writing a small message on his own. He gave the marker back to Jinwoo and kept his lock hidden from his boyfriend. It wasn’t that he cared if Jinwoo knew what it was, it was that he figured it would be more likely to come true if he didn’t share it. Moonbin glanced down at his lock and smiled softly. More than anything he wanted Jinwoo and the boys to be officially his, but the timing wasn’t right just yet. Hopefully it would be soon. 

Jinwoo quickly scribbled on the back of his before pocketing it and helping the boys lock theirs to the fence. “Ready?” he asked Bin, pulling the lock back out of his pocket. 

Moonbin nodded. He turned his lock around and found the perfect spot where two locks could go next to each other. Glancing at Jinwoo, he locked his to the fence and stepped back. 

Jinwoo looped his lock through the fence and through the loop of Bin’s before locking it. “There,” he said happily, “perfect.”

Moonbin smiled softly and leaned over to kiss Jinwoo’s cheek. “I love you a lot,” he whispered, “I’m really sorry for everything that’s been going on lately.”

“I love you too,” Jinwoo said happily, “thank you for being here for me and the boys. It means so much.”

“I’ll always be here for you. All of you, no matter what happens,” Moonbin promised. He was gonna kiss Jinwoo’s cheek again when movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Seongwoo had his arms up so Moonbin picked up the boy. “What did you wish?” he asked. “It’s a secret,” Moonbin replied, “if I say it out loud, I’m scared it might not come true.”

“Alright, you guys wanna go find some food?” Jinwoo said, taking Sanha’s hand. They went back down a few levels to hunt for dinner. 

The rest of their day went very smoothly. The boys were exhausted by the time they got home and went right to bed after their baths. Everything was finally starting to calm down and within the next couple days Moonbin had finally heard back from the small company he had applied to. When he got the email he rushed into the living room to find Jinwoo. “Babe, babe, I got an interview at that company you found,” he said excitedly.

“Baby, that’s amazing!” Jinwoo said, smiling widely. He was so happy that Moonbin was finally able to move on.

“We’ll just have to see how it goes and go from there,” Moonbin said. He dropped onto the couch next to his boyfriend. “I know this will be so much better, but I can’t help but feel like I’m giving up on Myungjun and the factories.”

“You’re not,” Jinwoo said firmly, “you did what you could down there and you helped a lot of people, but it’s out of your hands now, babe.” Across the room, his phone rang. 

“Thanks for being so supportive,” Moonbin said. He leaned over to steal a quick kiss before Jinwoo went to answer his phone. 

“Hello?” Jinwoo answered the phone. His face fell as he heard who was on the other end and he disappeared into the bedroom, shutting the door for some privacy.

Moonbin’s eyes widened when Jinwoo disappeared into their bedroom. He didn’t know what the phone call could be about, but judging by how Jinwoo reacted, it couldn’t have been good. 

Jinwoo was on the phone for a while, arguing with the person on the other end. “Fine,” he finally said, “one visit. That’s it.” He hung up and threw himself on the bed with a groan.

Moonbin waited a moment before letting himself into the bedroom. “Jinwoo? Is everything okay?” he asked carefully.

“That was my sister,” Jinwoo said quietly, “she wants to see Seongwoo.”

Moonbin froze. “She...she wants to see him? Now?” he asked. He didn’t want to say it, but why had she waited three years to ask about seeing Seongwoo?

“Soon,” Jinwoo said, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes. “Some bullshit about she wants to make sure I’m raising him well or something or she’s gonna make arrangements to have his actual dad’s family take him.”

Moonbin’s heart sank. He couldn’t imagine Seongwoo getting taken away from them. “She can’t do that can she? He’s technically in your custody. But it doesn’t matter because she’ll see how amazing you are for him and how much he loves you and she won’t take him away,” he said. 

“I don’t know,” Jinwoo said with a heavy sigh, “I doubt it, but what do I know? If he were to step up and try to gain custody, I wouldn’t be able to do anything.”

“Seongwoo wouldn’t want that, I know he wouldn’t. We’re gonna keep this family together, I promise,” Moonbin said. He sat down on the edge of the bed next to his boyfriend. 

“No, but he’s three, so he doesn’t get a say,” Jinwoo said, “I...don’t think it’s a good idea for you to come with us.”

Moonbin paused. “Oh, okay,” he said quietly, “that’s fine. Whatever you think is best.” That hurt a little, but it wasn’t his place to go anyway. This was Jinwoo’s family and he could still be supportive from home. 

“I’m sorry,” Jinwoo said sincerely, “I just don’t know how she feels about relationships like ours and I don’t want to take any risks.”

“No, it’s okay. I understand. Just let me know if I can do anything,” Moonbin said. He didn’t like the idea of hiding from Jinwoo’s sister, but if it gave them more of a chance at keeping Seongwoo, he would do it. 

“Help me figure out how to tell the boys,” Jinwoo said with a hollow laugh, “shit, Sanha’s gonna be so upset.”

Moonbin chewed on his lip. “Does Sanha know Seongie’s mom is in jail?” he asked. He didn’t even know how to begin to explain this to Seongwoo. 

“Sanha doesn’t even realize Seongie has a different mom,” Jinwoo said, “he doesn’t understand the whole death thing quite yet.”

Moonbin let out a long breath. “Well, this is gonna be interesting,” he said dryly, “I don’t know if Seongie will understand so it might be easier to tell him first. He’s less likely to get upset.”

“I really need to get a move on finding out where Jinah is buried,” Jinwoo said with a sigh, “I should’ve done it right when we got back from the beach, but I didn’t and now it’s gonna bite me in the ass.”

“We’ll figure it out before we tell Sanha. I can even take him the same day you bring Seongie to see his mom,” Moonbin offered. 

“No, I want to take him,” Jinwoo said softly, “I want to see her too. I’d rather see her than the other one.”

Moonbin nodded. “I’ll just keep the other toddler distracted here when you visit each of them. It’ll probably be easier to just bring one of them,” he said. 

“Oh yeah, I don’t want Sanha around her mess anyway,” Jinwoo said. He didn’t want Seongwoo around her either, but he didn’t have much choice in that. 

Moonbin sighed sadly. Within the next couple of days, they were able to find where Jinwoo’s sister was buried, which meant they could finally tell the boys. One afternoon, after Sanha had gotten home from school, Moonbin corralled the boys into the bedroom so he and Jinwoo could talk to them. 

“In trouble?” Seongwoo asked nervously when he and Sanha were sat down on Binsam and Jinsam’s bed. Jinwoo quickly shook his head. “No, baby, you’re not in trouble,” he said, “you and I just have to take a trip in a couple days.”

Moonbin sat down next to Seongwoo. “Trip?” the toddler asked excitedly, “where?” Last time they went on a trip it was a lot of fun and he was excited for another one. 

Jinwoo took a deep breath. “We’re gonna go and meet your mom,” he said finally, bracing himself for Sanha’s reaction. 

“Meet mom?” Seongwoo asked quietly, but you could barely hear the boy over Sanha’s outburst. “How come Seongie gets to meet mommy and I don’t?” he asked, “you said I couldn’t meet them!” Moonbin sighed sadly. The poor boy was nearly in tears. 

Jinwoo reached out and pulled Sanha into his lap. “Baby,” he said slowly, “Sanha, honey, you and Seongie don’t have the same mom. Your Mommy was my older sister; his mommy is my younger sister.”

Sanha looked over at Seongwoo and back at Jinwoo. “Different daddy too?” he asked, lower lip wobbling. 

Jinwoo nodded. “You two aren’t technically brothers, you’re cousins,” he explained, “and I know I promised you that we would go see your Mommy and Daddy, and we will. It just took me a little while to find them.”

“Not brothers?” Sanha asked. He looked back at Seongwoo before bursting into tears. “It’s not fair!” he cried. 

Seeing Sanha cry of course made Seongwoo cry, which meant that Jinwoo had two weepy babies in his lap. He had Bin take Seongwoo into the other room to calm down so he could deal with Sanha. “I know it’s not fair, baby,” he said, rubbing the boy’s back.

Sanha held onto Jinwoo’s shirt tightly. “I wanna meet  _ my _ mommy,” he sobbed. It wasn’t fair that Seongwoo got to meet his mom and he didn’t. 

“I know, baby, I’m so sorry,” Jinwoo said, “I wish you could meet your Mommy too. She was so, so amazing.”

Sanha cried harder. “I-I wanna s-sleep w-with mommy and d-daddy. I wanna m-meet them,” he choked out between sobs. 

“I know, Ddana, I know,” Jinwoo said, barely holding in his own tears, “I miss your mommy a lot too.”

Sanha sniffed and wiped his face on Jinwoo’s shirt. He still didn’t know what to think about everything. “I don’t wanna meet Seongie’s mom,” he decided.

“That’s okay, baby, I don’t want you to meet Seongie’s mom either,” Jinwoo said honestly, “she isn’t very nice at all and I wouldn’t even be taking Seongie to see her if she wasn’t making me.”

Sanha whimpered and clung onto his uncle tighter. “But my mommy was nice? And daddy too?” he asked nervously. 

“Your mommy and daddy were so nice and so smart,” Jinwoo assured Sanha, “and they loved you very, very much.”

Sanha sighed quietly. “I love them too,” Sanha mumbled. He sniffled and wiped his nose again. 

Jinwoo grimaced; he could feel Sanha’s snot soaking through to his shoulder. “We’re gonna go and see them, I promise,” Jinwoo said, “over the weekend, so we don’t miss school, alright?”

Sanha looked up at his uncle. “Jinsam, you really promise?” he asked. 

“I really promise,” Jinwoo said, “I’ll take Seongie to see his mom on Saturday and then Sunday will be just you and me.”

Sanha hugged Jinwoo again. “Thank you, Jinsam,” he said. In the other room, Moonbin had managed to calm Seongwoo down and was humming a song to keep it that way. 

“And no matter what, you and Seongie are always going to be brothers,” Jinwoo said, “and you’ll always be my babies. Okay?”

Sanha nodded and buried his face in Jinwoo’s neck again. “I love you, Jinsam,” he mumbled. When Moonbin couldn’t hear Sanha crying anymore, he carried Seongwoo back into the bedroom. 

“I love you too,” Jinwoo said with a smile. When Bin and Seongwoo rejoined them, he let the younger boy crawl over and hug him tightly as well.

Moonbin sat on the edge of the bed a little ways away, giving the family their space. He hoped Jinwoo’s sister didn’t try to do anything with Seongwoo. The boy was so happy here with them. 

“Binsam,” Seongwoo whined, holding a hand out for the younger man. 

“I’m right here, Seongie, it’s okay,” Moonbin said gently. He scooted over and held the toddler’s hand. 

Jinwoo took a deep breath. Nothing about this weekend was going to be enjoyable. 

Moonbin wrapped his free arm around Jinwoo and held his boyfriend close. “Everything’s gonna be okay,” he promised. 

On Saturday, Jinwoo packed Seongwoo into Bin’s car and drove out of the city to the women’s prison. When they got there, they checked in and were led to a room to wait for Jinri. 

Seongwoo clung onto Jinwoo’s hand tightly. All of the adults they talked to looked scary and he didn’t want to be here. This wasn’t as fun as the last trip they took. 

It felt like they were waiting forever before the door opened again and Jinwoo’s younger sister finally appeared. She looked a lot worse for the wear than the last time he’d seen her. “Jinri,” he said coldly. 

Seongwoo stared at the woman that entered the room. He had never heard Jinsam sound so mean before and he was starting to get scared. 

“I didn’t think you’d actually bring him,” Jinri said as she sat down. “You threatened me, what else was I supposed to do?” Jinwoo asked. 

Seongwoo looked back and forth between his mom and his uncle. Neither of them looked very happy. He pressed closer to Jinsam and hoped his uncle didn’t make him get up. 

“How old’s he now?” Jinri asked, making Jinwoo scoff. “You can’t even be bothered to remember his birthday? He just turned three. Seongie, you wanna go say hi?”

Seongwoo whimpered quietly and snuggled even closer to Jinwoo. “Have to?” he asked in a small voice. 

“No, not if you don’t want to,” Jinwoo assured him. Seongwoo’s safety and comfort would always come before whatever bullshit his sister wanted. 

“Stay with you,” Seongwoo said quietly. He watched his mom with big eyes, hoping she didn’t get mad. 

“That’s okay, baby, you can stay right here,” Jinwoo said, tightening his hold on Seongwoo. Jinri watched them with an unreadable expression on her face. 

Seongwoo relaxed a little when Jinsam’s grip tightened. He thought his mom would be nice like Jinsam, but she was the complete opposite. 

“What did you tell him about me?” Jinri demanded. Jinwoo’s eyebrows raised. “I didn’t tell him anything,” he said, “clearly, I don’t need to.”

Seongwoo whimpered again. One small fist grabbed onto Jinsam’s shirt as tight as he could. 

“Give him to me, he’s my son,” she said. “Not if he doesn’t want to,” Jinwoo said calmly, hoping his sister didn’t decide to escalate everything. 

Seongwoo looked up at Jinsam with big eyes. “Stay with Jinsam,” he begged. His mother’s angry tone caused him to start to tear up. 

“Jinsam? What kind of a name is that?” Jinri said derisively. “It’s just their way of saying Uncle Jinwoo,” he explained, “Sanha came up with it. You’d know that if you had bothered to check in on him at all in the last three years.”

“Want Sanha hyung,” Seongwoo mumbled sadly. He really wished his brother was here with him. More than that he wished he was home playing instead of being here. 

“That’s such a stupid name,” she said, “you raising my kid to be stupid, Jinwoo?”

Seongwoo buried his face in Jinsam’s neck with a sniff. Why was his mom so mean? Jinsam and Binsam were never this mean. “Wanna go home,” he begged, “wanna go home with Jinsam and Binsam and Sanha hyung.” 

Jinwoo rubbed Seongwoo’s back soothingly. “Who the  _ fuck  _ is Binsam?” Jinri shrieked. “Bin is my boyfriend,” Jinwoo said, standing up, “he’s been in my life since before Seongwoo was even born.” Jinri stood up also, slamming her hands on the table. “I’ll get him away from you, I swear to God, Jinwoo,” she snarled. “Here’s what you don’t seem to understand,” Jinwoo replied, tucking Seongwoo’s face into his neck, “I brought him here as a favor to you on the hope that you had become a better person, but there is nothing you can do to take Seongwoo away from me. He’s  _ my _ son, legally, and you can’t change that at all. Don’t contact me again.” With that, he stormed out of the room.

Seongwoo jumped and burst into tears when his mom started yelling. He clung onto Jinsam tightly and sobbed into his uncle’s shoulder, not daring to look up. 

Jinwoo hurried himself and Seongwoo outside as quickly as he could, getting them to the car before he even attempted to separate the boy from his neck. “Seongie, I’m so sorry,” he said. 

“W-why she so m-mean?” Seongwoo asked between sobs. He wasn’t ready to let go of Jinsam yet and kept a tight grip on his uncle. 

“I don’t know, baby,” Jinwoo said softly, “but I promise, you’ll never have to see her again.”

Seongwoo started to calm down when he realized they were outside. “Jinsam mad?” he asked in a small voice. He didn’t forget how angry his uncle sounded for most of the conversation. 

“No, baby, I’m not mad at you,” Jinwoo said, “I’m upset that she was so mean and rude, but I’m not upset with you.”

Seongwoo sniffed loudly. “Wanna go home,” he mumbled again. 

“We’ll go home,” Jinwoo said, “you gotta let go of me first though.”

Seongwoo whimpered but obediently let go of Jinsam. He let his uncle strap him in his car seat and soon enough they were headed home. 

The apartment was quiet when they got home and Jinwoo assured Sanha was napping, which was where Seongwoo was headed as well. He got the boy out of his coat and shoes and settled in bed before going to find Bin.

Moonbin was about to ask how everything went but one look at Jinwoo’s face gave him his answer. “Are you okay?” he asked instead. 

“Just ducky,” Jinwoo replied, “Jinri is no longer my problem.”

Moonbin’s eyes widened. “No longer your problem?” he asked slowly, “oh my God, what happened? Did she try and take Seongwoo away?”

“Even if she did, it wouldn’t matter. I called the social worker yesterday, just to make sure. She fully signed her rights away when he was born. They both did. There’s literally nothing she could do. And if she’s going to insult my kids and my partner, she’s not going to get a single cent more out of me.”

Moonbin was relieved that Seongwoo couldn’t get taken away from them. “She insulted the boys? She doesn’t even know them. And how did she find out about me? I thought you weren’t gonna tell her,” he said. 

“Seongie mentioned you,” Jinwoo said with a sigh, “but it doesn’t matter. It’s done.”

“I’m really sorry, babe,” Moonbin said sincerely. He walked over to Jinwoo and wrapped him in a gentle hug. 

Jinwoo sighed and relaxed into the hug. “I think I hoped seeing him would wake her up a bit, but she’s been a lost cause for too long,” he mumbled. 

“It’s not your fault it didn’t work. She’s obviously not fit to be a parental figure in any capacity. And while that’s sad that Seongwoo won’t get to know her, it’s definitely better for him to stay away,” Moonbin said. 

Jinwoo sighed and nodded. He knew that; he just didn’t want Seongwoo thinking it was somehow his fault.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Moonbin promised, “I’m sure Seongie’ll forget all about this in a couple of days. And I’ll make sure I keep him distracted tomorrow.”

“Somehow, I think tomorrow’s going to be worse,” Jinwoo said, pulling away with a sigh.

Moonbin let his arms fall to his side. “Do you want to go alone first?” he asked. 

“No, I think it’ll be good for me and Sanha to go together,” Jinwoo said, “besides, I’m sure he’ll be upset if he finds out I went without him.”

Moonbin nodded. “I didn’t want to keep Sanha in the house all day so we went down the street and got some flowers. He picked them out himself and they’re in the fridge for you to take with you tomorrow,” he said. 

“That’s wonderful, thank you,” Jinwoo said sincerely. He hoped tomorrow would go somewhat smoothly. This weekend didn’t need any more chaos. 

Moonbin smiled softly. “Everything’s gonna be okay,” he promised, “maybe after everything calms down we can ask Dongmin to take the boys for a night so we can do something.”

Jinwoo hummed. It would be nice to have a night to themselves. 

“I think you need a hot shower,” Moonbin said, “I’m gonna get started on dinner and the boys will probably be up by the time you get out.”

Jinwoo sighed. He wouldn’t protest that. He pulled away from Bin and headed toward the bathroom. This was going to be a  _ long  _ hot shower. 

Moonbin got started in the kitchen. A little while later he heard small footsteps and was surprised to see Seongwoo and not Sanha standing in the doorway. The boy looked absolutely miserable and still had tear tracks running down his face. Moonbin walked across the kitchen and scooped him up. He heard noise coming from the boys’ bedroom and guessed that Sanha’s playing woke Seongwoo up. 

Jinwoo did indeed take a fairly long shower. When he got out, he heard playing noises from the boys’ room. He got changed quickly and went to find Bin, who was with a weepy Seongwoo. “Oh, baby, what’s wrong?” Jinwoo asked. 

Seongwoo whimpered quietly and reached out for Jinwoo. “He hasn’t said anything since he came in. I think Sanha woke him up so between being tired and overwhelmed from today, I think it’s just a lot for him,” Moonbin said. 

Jinwoo took Seongwoo into his arms. “You wanna go back to sleep, baby?” he asked softly. When Seongwoo nodded, he carried him down to his and Bin’s room, shutting the door to keep it quiet. 

Seongwoo wrapped his arms around Jinsam’s neck and hid his face. Now that he couldn’t hear Moonbin cooking or Sanha playing, he was well on his way to falling back asleep. 

Jinwoo carefully laid in the bed, letting Seongwoo stay attached and laying on his chest. “I’m so sorry you had a bad day today, Seongie,” he said. 

Seongwoo sniffed. “Wanted mommy to be nice,” he mumbled into Jinsam’s neck. 

“I know, kiddo, I know,” Jinwoo said, “I wanted her to be nice too.”

“Don’t wanna go back,” Seongwoo whispered, “wanna stay here with Jinsam.”

“You don’t have to go back,” Jinwoo promised, “she’s staying there forever. You won’t have to see her again.”

Seongwoo relaxed. He snuggled closer to Jinsam and fell asleep again. Meanwhile, Sanha wandered his way into the kitchen when he started to get hungry. 

It didn’t take long for Jinwoo to fall asleep once Seongwoo was down. Their day had been so exhausting. He was worn. 

When Moonbin peeked into their room both Seongwoo and Jinwoo were fast asleep and he wasn’t going to wake them up. He ate with Sanha and put the leftovers in the fridge. He played with Sanha in the living room so the noise was kept to a minimum. A little while later he helped the boy take a bath and soon enough he was asleep too. Moonbin got ready for bed and laid down carefully so he didn’t jostle the boys awake. 

Jinwoo woke up when the mattress dipped next to him. His arms tightened around Seongwoo and he turned his head to face Bin. “Did we sleep through dinner?” he asked. 

“Yeah. I didn’t want to wake you guys up. I know you had a long day. If you’re hungry, I can bring something in here if you want,” Moonbin said quietly. 

“No, I’m okay, but Seongie probably will be,” Jinwoo said, “if he wakes up, that is.”

Moonbin reached over and ran his hand through Seongwoo’s hair. The toddler didn’t even stir. “He’s out like a light,” Moonbin whispered. 

Jinwoo sighed. Seongwoo was clearly exhausted from the day and he regretted ever agreeing to go see Jinri. 

“I’m sure he’ll make up for it in the morning,” Moonbin said, “poor baby. I’m really sorry today didn’t go well.”

“I don’t know what I expected,” Jinwoo said with a sigh, “I feel so horrible for putting him through that.”

“It’s not your fault, babe,” Moonbin assured, “if you knew that was going to happen you would have done something different. I’m sure he’ll feel a lot better tomorrow.”

“I should have known from the second she tried to threaten me that it wasn’t going to go well,” Jinwoo said, shaking his head. “I never should have taken him there. Period.”

“But it’s all over now. And now you can focus on Sanha and tomorrow and I can worry about Seongwoo,” Moonbin said, “he’s such a happy kid, I know he’ll come around after some sleep and some breakfast.”

“You didn’t see him, Bin, he was  _ wrecked _ ,” Jinwoo said, “he had such high expectations for who his mom would be and I let him down so badly.”

“You didn’t let him down, she did,” Moonbin said, “and if he was upset with you, he wouldn’t have a death grip on your neck right now. He loves you a lot.”

Jinwoo’s grip on Seongwoo tightened. “He’s such a good kid,” he murmured, “I don’t want this to destroy him.”

“It won’t. It’s actually probably better that you went when he was so young. He’ll bounce right back and he might forget a little bit of it when he gets older,” Moonbin said. 

Jinwoo sighed. He still felt terrible. He was supposed to protect Seongwoo and instead he’d taken him right into a lion’s den. 

“I’m sure you’ll feel better about everything in the morning too,” Moonbin said, “and if you don’t, I’ll be here to help.”

Jinwoo sighed again and nodded. He scooted closer to Bin, frowning when Seongwoo whined and tightened his hold.

Moonbin scooted the rest of the way over. “I don’t think he’s letting go for the rest of the night,” he said. 

“Neither do I,” Jinwoo said, “it’s getting a little hard to breathe though and I really need some water. Little help?”

“Sure thing,” Moonbin said. He rolled out of bed and padded into the kitchen to get Jinwoo a glass of water. Maybe Seongwoo would wake up and have a little bit too. 

Jinwoo huffed. That wasn’t what he meant. What he really needed was for Bin to take Seongwoo from him. The boy was a rock; he definitely wouldn’t wake up. 

Moonbin sighed when Seongwoo’s grip hadn’t loosened when he came back into the room. “He might wake up if you try to move him,” he said. 

“I doubt it,” Jinwoo said, “if he does, that’s okay, I’m sure he’ll be right back asleep anyway.”

“Alright,” Moonbin said with a sigh. He set the water down and reached out to take Seongwoo. 

Jinwoo took a deep breath as soon as Seongwoo was lifted off of him. He sat up and took a long drink of the water. “I can take him back now,” he said once he was comfortable. 

Seongwoo didn’t make a peep as he was moved back and forth. Once he was in Jinwoo’s arms again, he automatically curled into his uncle’s chest. 

Jinwoo held Seongwoo securely and let himself slowly slide back down the bed. He knew he wouldn’t be getting away from the boy again, so he just accepted it. 

“I hope he’s okay without you tomorrow,” Moonbin said. Seongwoo was always an angel for him but he didn’t know how the boy would be tomorrow. 

“I hope so too,” Jinwoo said, “I want to try and leave pretty early because it’s a bit of a drive, so I might be gone before he’s even up.”

Moonbin chewed on his lip. “What do you want me to do if he freaks out and won’t calm down without you?” he asked. He hadn’t been this nervous about watching Seongwoo since he was a baby.

“Call me,” Jinwoo said, “I’ll connect my phone to the car while I’m driving so I’ll answer no matter what.”

Moonbin nodded. “Alright, I’ll do that,” he said. He reached over and smoothed down Seongwoo’s hair. 

“Hopefully, he won’t freak out,” Jinwoo said, “but we’ll be ready if he does.”

“Yeah, we will,” Moonbin said quietly, “but you need to get some rest if you’re getting up early tomorrow.”

“I don’t know that I’ll be able to fall back asleep,” Jinwoo said with a sigh.

Moonbin frowned and scooted a little bit closer. “I’ll stay up with you,” he decided. He wasn’t about to leave Jinwoo alone with his thoughts for the night.

“No, it’s okay, Bin, you can sleep,” Jinwoo said, “I’m okay, really.”

“Too late, I’ve already decided,” Moonbin said, “I haven’t pulled an all nighter in years. It’ll be like a little throwback to college.”

“No, you need to be rested if you’re going to be dealing with Seongwoo tomorrow,” Jinwoo said, “Sanha and I are probably going to be down for the count when we get home so I really need you in top shape.”

Moonbin pouted like a child. “But we haven’t gotten alone time in a while,” he said quietly. 

“I know, Bin, I know,” Jinwoo said, “how about next weekend? We can send the boys to Myungjun’s and go on a date.”

“Okay,” Moonbin agreed, “but that doesn’t stop me from being worried about you now.”

“I’m fine, I promise,” Jinwoo said, “I probably won’t be tomorrow, but that’s tomorrow’s problem.”

Moonbin sighed sadly. “Well, I’ll be ready to take care of you tomorrow when you get home,” he said. He scooted the rest of the way over to Jinwoo. 

“I have no idea what I’m walking into,” Jinwoo said, “I just hope someone’s been taking care of her.”

“I’m sure someone has been,” Moonbin said confidently, “and if this turns out to be too much for you, that’s okay. We’ll all be here no matter what.”

Jinwoo just sighed heavily. It was going to be too much, he knew that, but he had to do this for Sanha. The boy deserved this much. 

Moonbin leaned over and kissed Jinwoo’s cheek. “Call me if you need anything. I can stay with Sanha, I can bring Seongwoo, I can even just be another presence. Whatever you need, I’ll do,” he said. Despite his wishes, he was starting to get sleepy and knew he wouldn’t be awake for much longer. 

The next morning, Jinwoo managed to successfully move Seongwoo over to lay with Bin and get Sanha out of the house quietly. They stopped at a cafe on their way to get breakfast and Sanha refused to let go of the flowers all the way to the cemetery.

Sanha held onto the flowers tightly so he didn’t drop them. When they got to the cemetery he looked around wide-eyed, not sure which way to go. There were other people walking around so he made sure to stay close to Jinwoo. 

Jinwoo held Sanha’s free hand tightly as they walked among the rows until they found what they were looking for. It was a big stone with both of their names on it, one next to the other. There were other flowers there, only slightly wilted, and framed photographs of both Jinah and her husband. Clearly, someone had been watching over them. 

Sanha put the flowers down next to the ones that were already there. Without making a sound, he sat down on the grass and looked at the pictures. 

Jinwoo carefully sat down next to Sanha, wincing when his knees cracked loudly. “You look a lot like your Mommy, you know,” he said softly. 

Sanha turned his attention to the other picture. His mother had a radiant smile that Sanha had definitely inherited. He was scared to talk because he didn’t want to wake them up and have Jinwoo be mad at him. 

“What are you thinking, kiddo?” Jinwoo asked, rubbing Sanha’s back gently. He hoped that there was a way to still make this positive. 

“Can’t make noise,” Sanha whispered nervously. He didn’t even tear his eyes from the pictures. 

“It’s okay, baby, they won’t be able to hear you,” Jinwoo said, “you aren’t going to wake them up.”

Sanha finally turned around to look at Jinwoo. “Promise?” he asked. 

“I promise,” Jinwoo said with a nod. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Jinah, so he focused on her husband instead. 

Sanha crawled into Jinwoo’s lap. He hugged his uncle tightly but made sure he could still see the pictures. 

Jinwoo wrapped his arms around Sanha securely, keeping the boy safe in his lap. “I brought sandwiches; I thought it might be nice to have lunch with them,” he said. 

Sanha nodded. “Do mommy and daddy like sandwiches?” he asked. 

“Well, mommy used to when she was little, so I hope she still does now,” Jinwoo said. Even before she passed, Jinwoo had hardly seen her after they’d been split up.

“We can share my sandwich,” Sanha decided with a nod. He finally turned to look up at Jinwoo. 

“If that’s what you want,” Jinwoo said with a nod. He pulled the sandwiches out of his bag. “Why don’t you tell them about school?”

“Minhyukkie hyung and I get to play at recess. He’s my best friend but he’s bigger than me, so he’s in a different class. And my teacher is really nice, just like you!” Sanha rambled, completely forgetting about the sandwich. 

“You know, your Mommy was a teacher,” Jinwoo said. He unwrapped a sandwich and handed Sanha half. 

Sanha grabbed the sandwich. “A teacher? Like mine?” he asked. 

“Yeah, just like yours,” Jinwoo confirmed with a nod. He bit into his own sandwich. 

Sanha turned back around. “Are all teachers nice like mommy?” he asked. 

“It’s their job to be nice,” Jinwoo said, a little evasively. 

Sanha nodded, satisfied. “Was daddy a teacher too?” he asked next. 

“Your daddy worked in business, like Binnie,” Jinwoo explained. 

“Daddy was just like Binnie?” Sanha asked. He took a couple bites of his sandwich before putting it on the grass. 

“Oh, bud, put that on a napkin,” Jinwoo said, quickly rescuing the sandwich, “Yeah, daddy’s job was a lot like Binnie’s.”

“I’m just sharing,” Sanha said with a pout, “was daddy as tall as Binnie?” 

“Not quite,” Jinwoo said, “but he was certainly taller than me.”

“Am I gonna be tall like daddy?” Sanha asked hopefully. He wanted to be big and strong just like his parents.

“I’m sure you will be,” Jinwoo said, “you’re already pretty tall for your age.”

Sanha sat up proudly. “There’s a lot of kids in my class and I’m taller than most of them,” he told his parents. He deflated a little. “But they’re all smarter than me.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Jinwoo said, “you’re brilliant, Sanha.”

Sanha leaned back against Jinwoo. “I don’t know,” he mumbled, “but Seongie’s gonna come to school with me soon.” He gasped and looked up at his uncle. “They have to meet Seongie too!”

“I’m sure they’ll meet Seongie too,” Jinwoo assured him, “why don’t you tell them about him for now?”

“He’s my little brother,” Sanha said, perking up again, “he’s three and we play together. We built a  _ big  _ sandcastle together at the beach with Binnie. Jinsam, you have to tell them about Binnie.”

“Why don’t you tell them about Binnie?” Jinwoo suggested, “I’m sure you’ll tell it much better.”

“Binnie is…Binnie is…” Sanha paused for a minute, “Binnie takes care of me and Seongie and Jinsam!”

Jinwoo smiled softly. Bin certainly did do that. “Do you know what Binnie’s official title is?” he asked, “like how mommy is mommy and daddy is daddy and I’m uncle?”

“Well, Seongie calls Binnie ‘Binsam,’ but Binnie’s not the same as you,” Sanha said. He didn’t really know Moonbin’s title, he had always just been Bin or Binnie.

“Binnie’s my boyfriend,” Jinwoo explained, “but you can think of him as your uncle if you want to.”

“And that’s why Binnie loves you so much!” Sanha said excitedly, “Jinsam, I wanna boyfriend too.”

“Oh, no, no, you are much too young, mister,” Jinwoo said, “maybe in ten years you can have a boyfriend if you still feel that way.”

“But that’s so long,” Sanha whined, “mommy and daddy would let me.” He crossed his arms and pouted up at Jinwoo.

“Mommy and daddy probably wouldn’t let you have a boyfriend for  _ twenty  _ years,” Jinwoo said, “be happy I’m only making you wait ten.”

Sanha whined again. He sat for a moment before thinking of the next thing to talk about. “Jinsam is a chef now. He cooks anything I want and it’s so yummy,” he told his parents. 

“I’m not a chef yet,” Jinwoo corrected, “I’m in school to become a chef. It’ll be another couple years before I’m actually a chef, baby.”

Sanha let his hands fall to his lap. “Jinsam and I are both in school,” he said instead.

“And we’re both doing a really good job,” Jinwoo said, “your teacher tells me all the time how good you are in class.”

Sanha turned around so he could hide his face in Jinwoo’s chest. “My teacher doesn’t say that,” he insisted.

“Yes, she does!” Jinwoo said, “every time I go in to pick you up. Would I lie to you, Ddana?”

“Nooo,” Sanha said with a shy smile. “I like school but some people are mean. I just ignore them. I don’t want people to be mean to Seongie if he comes.”

“When Seongie goes, he’ll have his big brother there to defend him, right?” Jinwoo asked. He knew Sanha would really give his life for Seongwoo in a heartbeat.

Sanha nodded. “No one hurts my Seongie,” he said matter of factly. 

“You should tell mommy and daddy more about Seongie,” Jinwoo suggested. He knew his sister had always wanted multiple kids and that she would be happy Sanha had a brother he loved so much.

“Seongie’s so cute! But he’s too small to play with me and Minhyukkie so we just play together at home. His favorite game is superheroes and we play everyday after school. One day, he can come with us and say hi,” Sanha rambled. 

“Did you tell mommy about Minhyuk?” Jinwoo asked. 

“A little,” Sanha said, “I get to see him everyday and sometimes he sleeps over. Those are the best days ever!”

Jinwoo smiled and ruffled Sanha’s hair. “Is there anything else you wanna say?” he asked, “we need to get going soon.”

“I don’t wanna go,” Sanha whined, “I wanna tell them all about our apartment and the park.” He wasn’t ready to go home at all, let alone now. 

“We have to be back for dinner and bathtime,” Jinwoo explained, “but you can still tell them about the apartment and the park now.”

Sanha pouted. “The apartment is  _ so  _ big now. Seongie and I share a room and Jinsam and Binnie share a room. And there’s a big TV, but we don’t use it a lot. We play at the park too. Me and Seongie and Minhyukkie hyung,” he said. 

Jinwoo smiled as he listened to Sanha ramble on. He started discreetly packing up until the boy finally seemed to run out of things to say. “Okay, kiddo, it’s time to say goodbye,” he said, “we’ll come back soon, okay?”

“No, I don’t wanna go home yet,” Sanha said firmly. He stayed rooted to his spot on Jinwoo’s lap. 

Jinwoo slung his bag over his shoulder and carefully moved Sanha off of his lap so he could get up. “Say your goodbyes, Sanha,” he said again, more firmly.

“No! I’m not going home. I wanna stay here with mommy and daddy!” Sanha said. Why was Jinwoo taking him away so soon?

Jinwoo sighed. He had hoped this wouldn’t happen. “Baby, I promise we’ll come back, but right now, we need to go see Seongie and Binnie and have dinner, okay?”

“No, Jinsam. I’m not hungry and I wanna stay,” Sanha whined, crawling closer to the headstone. He was starting to get a little teary. He didn’t want Jinwoo to take him home.

“What if we take a picture?” Jinwoo suggested, “you can sit between mommy and daddy and I’ll print the picture when we get home so you can look at them and talk to them whenever you want.”

“But it’s not the same. They can’t hear me from home,” Sanha said forcefully, “I don’t want to say goodbye again.”

“Baby,” Jinwoo crouched down to Sanha’s level, “they can hear you no matter where you are.”

“It’s not the same! I can’t visit at home! I wanna stay here so I can visit forever,” Sanha said, lower lip wobbling. Why didn’t Jinwoo understand?

Jinwoo sighed. He was going to have to explain this for real. He sat back down and pulled Sanha into his lap. “Your mommy and daddy are something called passed away,” he said softly, “that means that they got really hurt and their bodies couldn’t stay awake any longer, so they fell asleep for good. Their actual bodies are right here, but some people believe that their minds and souls go somewhere else when they pass away. No matter where you are, I promise you, your Mommy and Daddy are watching you and listening to you and all you have to do to visit is just look at the sky, okay?”

“Asleep for…for good?” Sanha asked quietly. This was all too much for the poor boy. He glanced at the pictures and then up at the sky before bursting into tears.

Jinwoo sighed again, pulling Sanha over his shoulder and rubbing the boy’s back as he cried. There wasn’t anything he could do to make it hurt less. 

Sanha pulled away from Jinwoo. He struggled to get out of his uncle’s arms and lap. He rushed back over to the pictures, tears still streaming down his face. “Can’t leave, can’t leave,” he insisted through sobs. 

Jinwoo pulled out his phone and texted Bin that they would be later than originally anticipated. Once that was sent, he moved toward Sanha. “I know it hurts, kiddo,” he said, “but I promise it’ll be okay.”

Sanha moved as far away from Jinwoo as he could. “Go away!” he cried, “go away, go away!” He was terrified that his uncle was still going to take him home.

Jinwoo sighed, glancing around to make sure there was no one to think he was hurting Sanha. “I’m sorry, Sanha,” he said before scooping the boy up. He held on tightly against all his wiggling and fighting to get away and started to dutifully carry him to the car, which was parked on the laneway a short way away. It was a fight to get Sanha buckled into his car seat with the boy screaming all the time, but he gave the boy a few minutes alone to cool down while he ran back over to take pictures of the framed photos for Sanha. 

Sanha cried harder when Jinwoo picked him up and carried him to the car. He wasn’t able to stop his uncle but he managed to get himself unbuckled. The next problem was getting the door open. 

Jinwoo was grateful he always had the child locks on when he got back to the car and saw Sanha unbuckled and trying to open the door. “Baby, you could have gotten really hurt,” he said after having wrestled the screaming boy back into his car seat and pushing the release back so it was reachable to anyone except Sanha. He climbed into the driver’s seat and started to slowly drive out of the cemetery. 

Sanha did his best to unbuckle himself again but he couldn’t reach. He pulled and pulled against the straps but nothing would budge. “Jinsam, go back!” he cried desperately, “I don’t want to go home. I don’t ever want to leave!” He was still sobbing uncontrollably and his sentences were barely understandable. 

It broke Jinwoo’s heart to have to ignore Sanha and keep driving. He knew the boy would tire himself out soon and then they could talk, but he had to get through the tantrum without crying himself first.

Why was Jinwoo ignoring him? Was he mad? Upset? Sad? Sanha didn’t know what to think. He kicked the back of Jinwoo’s seat and screamed and pulled on his car seat buckles as hard as he could, but nothing worked. He eventually gave up and slumped back in his car seat. The boy continued to cry, tears and snot running down his face and soaking the top of his shirt. 

Jinwoo eventually couldn’t take it anymore. He pulled off the highway and parked in the back of a commuter lot. With shaky hands, he dialed Bin’s number. 

Moonbin jumped when he heard his phone ring. He rushed over to answer it, leaving Seongwoo to play on the floor for a few minutes. “Jinwoo, is everything okay?” he asked nervously. 

“Can you come get us?” Jinwoo asked quietly, sniffling, “Sanha won’t stop crying and I’m about to lose it and I just c-can’t drive like this. We’re across the street from a commuter rail station.”

“I’m on my way right now,” Moonbin said. He pulled his phone away from his mouth for a moment. “Come on, Seongie, we’re gonna get Sanha and Jinsam.” Thankfully the toddler came right over and started putting his shoes on. “Don’t hang up on me, okay? We’ll be there soon.”

“Any chance you could leave him with a neighbor?” Jinwoo asked, “I don’t want him seeing Sanha like this and getting upset too. I r-really,  _ really  _ can’t handle that right now.”

“Yeah, let me see if anyone’s home,” Moonbin said. He knocked on a couple of doors and luckily one of their neighbors was home and willing to watch Seongwoo for him. Once the boy was all set, he grabbed his things and raced to get Jinwoo and Sanha. 

Jinwoo shared his location with Bin then shut the car off. The tears were coming, he could feel them, but he needed to make sure Sanha was okay first. He sat up, wiping under his eyes, and turned to look at the boy. 

Sanha’s eyes widened when Jinwoo turned around to look at him. His uncle looked upset and it scared him so much. He pressed against the back of his car seat and try as he might, he couldn’t stop crying. Moonbin raced as fast as he could to Jinwoo and Sanha. There was only so much he could do with the trains and he hoped there were no delays. 

“Sanha, baby, you need to calm down,” Jinwoo said, carefully reaching for the boy, “I know it hurts and you’re sad, but you’re gonna make yourself sick if you keep screaming like this, okay?”

Sanha curled into as small a ball as he could. He couldn’t move any further away so he just watched his uncle’s hand with wide eyes. “Stay away!” he screamed. Moonbin texted Jinwoo when he was close so that he didn’t scare his boyfriend walking up to the car door. 

Jinwoo sighed and pulled his hand back. Hopefully, Bin would get there soon and fix everything.

Jinwoo didn’t answer his text so Moonbin tried calling him instead. He was grateful that all of the trains were on time and now he was rushing across the parking lot to get to his boyfriend and Sanha. As he got closer, he could hear Sanha’s wailing and he knew whatever happened wasn’t good. 

Jinwoo flinched when his phone started buzzing. Moonbin must be here. He reached over and unlocked all the doors so his boyfriend could go straight for Sanha and let Jinwoo collect himself. 

Sanha was struggling against his car seat again. He jumped a mile when the car door opened and stared wide eyed at Moonbin. “What’s going on, Sanha?” Moonbin asked gently. “Don’t wanna go home. I wanna go back,” the boy replied miserably.

Jinwoo watched as Sanha immediately calmed down for Bin. It was like a superpower his boyfriend had: the ability to get any child to stop crying. It had been the case when they first met too.

Moonbin climbed into the car and closed the door behind him. “I’m sorry, baby. I can’t bring you back right now, but you can get out of your car seat until we start driving again. I don’t want you to get hurt,” he said. He reached over and slowly unbuckled the teary toddler. He wished he thought to bring water with him.

Sanha crawled into Moonbin’s lap, clinging to his neck and sobbing harshly. Jinwoo sighed and unbuckled himself as well, turning to lean against the door. This had been a terrible idea. 

Moonbin wrapped his arms around Sanha and held the boy loosely. He let the boy cry himself out, occasionally sneaking looks at Jinwoo to make sure his boyfriend was okay.

Jinwoo was just barely holding it together. He didn’t want Sanha to see him cry, but he was so close to breaking. 

Moonbin adjusted so that he could hold Sanha with one arm. He scooted forward as much as he could and reached a hand into the front seat to find one of Jinwoo’s. It was obvious how hard his boyfriend was taking this. 

“This was why I didn’t bring him earlier,” Jinwoo said, voice breaking, “I never wanted him to suffer like this.”

Moonbin rubbed the back of Jinwoo’s hand with his thumb. “I know, Jinwoo, I know. I think it’s just a lot for him. He’s still so young to try and understand what happened,” he said gently, “it’s not your fault. He’ll come around, it’s just gonna take a little while.”

“He was fine until I told him we had to go,” Jinwoo said, “he’s gonna hate me now.”

Moonbin glanced down at Sanha, who was still crying softly into his shoulder. “He’s not gonna hate you,” he promised, “he loves you a lot and I think he’ll feel better if we promise to bring him back.”

“I tried that,” Jinwoo said, “I promised we would come back, I took pictures of them so he could see them and talk to them. I don’t know what more I could have done, Bin.”

“You did the best you could,” Moonbin assured Jinwoo. He sighed and turned his attention to Sanha. “Baby, what’s going on? You know we can’t stay out too late. And Jinsam promised he’ll bring you back. And did you hear him? He took pictures for you and we’re gonna print them out first thing when we get home so you can have them,” he said gently. Sanha picked his head up. “Pictures?” he whimpered.

“I told you, baby, we’ll print them and then you can talk to them whenever you want,” Jinwoo said softly. 

“I wanna see them now,” Sanha whined. “Easy, baby, you can see them now,” Moonbin said, not wanting the toddler to get all worked up again. 

Jinwoo pulled out his phone and opened it up to the pictures of Sanha’s parents, then handed it to Bin. As long as Sanha calmed down, he would do anything.

Moonbin held out the phone to Sanha. “You can hold onto this the rest of the way home, but you have to get back in your car seat, okay?” he said. Sanha didn’t respond other than to snatch the phone out of Moonbin’s hand. 

Jinwoo wasn’t going to intervene. He didn’t want to risk making Sanha upset again, not when he was still so close to crying himself. He dug some napkins out of the glovebox and handed them to Bin to wipe Sanha’s face.

Moonbin wiped down Sanha’s face and the top of his shirt the best he could. “Alright, bud, it’s time to get back in your car seat so we can go home and get Seongie,” he said. “No, no, no,” Sanha said, gripping onto Moonbin tightly.

“Sanha,” Jinwoo said tiredly, “please, baby, I promise you can keep looking at them.”

“Do you want Jinsam to come stay back here with you?” Moonbin asked. Sanha nodded. “Alright, let’s get you buckled in and then I’ll switch with Jinsam and we can go home.” The boy finally let go of him and he was able to get him back in his car seat. 

Jinwoo got outdoor the car, groaning as his legs unfolded, and switched places with Bin. Hopefully, Sanha would stay content and they could get home in peace.

Sanha watched Jinwoo hesitantly, not sure if his uncle would yell at him or not now that he was in the back seat. Moonbin climbed into the front seat and wasted no time heading off for home. 

Jinwoo reached out and held one of Sanha’s hands, needing the reassurance that his nephew didn’t hate him. Fortunately, Sanha didn’t pull away and instead leaned his head on Jinwoo’s shoulder.

Moonbin glanced in the mirror and was glad to see Sanha resting his head on Jinwoo’s shoulder. Hopefully the boy would be tired enough from the drive and they would be able to get him inside without another fuss. 

It was going to be a fight and a half to get Sanha to give up the phone when he got home or it died, whichever came first, but Jinwoo wasn’t worried about that now.

When they finally arrived home, the first thing Moonbin did was get Sanha out of his car seat. He took the boy into his arms and then helped Jinwoo get out as well. He ushered his boyfriend into their apartment and got Sanha changed and settled in his bed before going down the hallway and getting Seongwoo.

Jinwoo followed Sanha and sat down on the edge of his bed. “If you give me the phone, I can print the pictures for you right now,” he offered.

“And they’ll be all mine?” Sanha asked quietly. He wasn’t quite sure about giving up the phone yet. 

“All yours,” Jinwoo said, “I’ll even laminate them so they don’t get wrinkled or dirty.”

“Okay,” Sanha agreed. He held out the phone to Jinwoo and hoped the pictures came quickly. Moonbin thanked their neighbor profusely and told Seongwoo that he had to be quiet when they got back. The toddler agreed and rushed off to find Jinwoo the moment they were in the door. 

Jinwoo took the phone and fiddled around until he figured out how to print them pictures. Once they were printed, he cut off the excess paper and stole one of Bin’s presentation laminating sheets to protect them. When they were done, he presented them to Sanha.

Sanha eagerly took the pictures from Jinwoo. “Thank you, Jinsam,” he said. He curled up in his bed and stared at the pictures, only glancing up when he heard a noise at the door. “Jinsam!” Seongwoo said excitedly. The toddler rushed across the room and wrapped himself around his uncle’s legs. Sanha watched his brother with nervous eyes, clutching his pictures a little bit closer.

Jinwoo picked Seongwoo up, kissing the boy’s cheek. “Did you have a good time with Mrs. Kim?” he asked.

Seongwoo nodded and threw his arms around Jinwoo’s neck. “I missed you a lot,” he said.

“We missed you too, baby,” Jinwoo said, “Sanha and I went to visit his mommy and daddy, right, Sanha?”

Sanha sniffed and nodded. He held the pictures against his chest and scooted back in his bed until his back pressed against the wall. Seongwoo pouted. “Sanha hyung sad?” he asked.

“A little,” Jinwoo said, “why don’t you cuddle with him and ask him to show you his pictures while Binnie and I make dinner?”

Seongwoo wiggled until Jinwoo put him down on the bed. “Hyung, wanna see pictures,” he said as he crawled toward his brother. “No,” Sanha whined tiredly, “go with Jinsam.”

“Sanha,” Jinwoo admonished, “Seongwoo won’t touch your pictures, he just wants to see. Why don’t you tell him about them?”

“You said all mine,” Sanha said. Seongwoo took one look at Sanha and decided he didn’t want to stay with his brother anymore. He crawled back over to Jinwoo and stuck his hands up.

Jinwoo sighed but picked Seongwoo up again. He wouldn’t push Sanha, not tonight. “C’mon, kiddo, let’s go help Bin.”

Seongwoo watched Sanha sadly as Jinwoo carried him out of the bedroom. Moonbin turned around when he heard footsteps and was a little surprised to see Jinwoo carrying Seongwoo.

“Sanha isn’t quite ready to share his pictures,” Jinwoo explained, setting Seongwoo down in his chair and rolling up his sleeves.

“You gonna hang out with us, Seongie?” Moonbin asked. The toddler just nodded. “Do you want to tell Jinsam about what we did today?” he prompted. 

Jinwoo stepped over to the sink and washed his hands before taking over the chopping from Moonbin. “What did you do, Seongie?”

“We played superheroes and watched shows,” Seongwoo said with a shy smile. Moonbin chuckled and ruffled Seongwoo’s hair. “What do you think of a sleepover tonight? You and Sanha come stay with us? Is that a good idea?” Moonbin asked. “Yes, yes! Sleepover!” Seongwoo said excitedly. 

Jinwoo smiled and ruffled the boy’s hair. “Why don’t you go tell your brother?” he suggested.

Seongwoo hopped off the chair and raced down the hallway. He paused in the doorway. “Hyung, Binsam said we can have a sleepover tonight. Get to stay in Jinsam and Binsam’s bed,” he said. 

Jinwoo smiled as Seongwoo raced off to tell Sanha. “Thank you for rescuing us today,” he said softly, hugging Bin from behind.

Moonbin put down the wooden spoon he was holding so he could put his rub Jinwoo’s arms. “I’m always gonna be here for you. No matter what happens,” he promised, “do you want to talk about what happened or would you rather just focus on dinner?”

“Once the boys are asleep,” Jinwoo said. He didn’t want to break down in front of them.

Moonbin dropped the subject and continued to work on dinner. He didn’t mind Jinwoo staying wrapped around his back while he cooked. Hopefully, it was as calming for his boyfriend as it was for him.

Jinwoo stayed wrapped around Bin’s back. He listened to the steady thump of his boyfriend’s heart and felt himself relax. It was impossible to describe the love and gratitude he held for Bin.

When Moonbin was done cooking, he let the pot sit on the stove for a few minutes to cool down. The boys hadn’t come back yet and he wanted a few minutes with Jinwoo before he ate. Carefully, he turned himself around so he could hug Jinwoo back. 

Jinwoo settled himself more firmly against Bin’s chest. Looking up, he pouted, waiting for his kiss.

Moonbin chuckled quietly. “You’re such a baby,” he said. He obediently leaned down to kiss Jinwoo.

Jinwoo smiled when Bin kissed him. “I love you,” he mumbled.

“I love you more,” Moonbin replied. He knew Jinwoo wouldn’t be up for arguing tonight so hopefully that meant he would win this round.

“No, you don’t,” Jinwoo said with a soft smile. He knew Bin wouldn’t pick a fight with him tonight. “I’ll go get the boys.”

It was Moonbin’s turn to pout now. He tightened his arms around Jinwoo so he couldn’t escape. “Five more minutes,” he whined. 

“The food’s gonna get cold,” Jinwoo said, “you have me all night.” 

Moonbin huffed. “Fine, fine,” he said, releasing Jinwoo from his hold. He set the table and served the food while his boyfriend wrangled the boys into the kitchen.

Jinwoo managed to get Sanha to put his pictures aside while they ate, thankfully. He didn’t even complain about it, but instead mumbled something about keeping them clean.

Moonbin could tell Sanha was exhausted so he helped the boy eat and then pulled him onto his lap. “I think it’s bath time,” he said when Seongwoo finished as well. “I’ll clean up everything after, you just go get in bed,” he said to Jinwoo.

“I can help with bath time,” Jinwoo said, “we should probably teach Sanha to shower soon, but that’s not a tonight problem.”

“Yeah, maybe tomorrow,” Moonbin said. Between the two of them, they had the boys washed and dressed in no time. Moonbin shooed all of them into the bedroom while he went to clean up the kitchen. Soon enough, he was back in the bedroom and ready to spend the night with his family.

Jinwoo curled up next to Bin, arm secure around Seongwoo on his other side. He could tell his brother was absorbed in something else and had elected to stay away from him rather than right next to him.

Moonbin wrapped one arm around Jinwoo and the other around Sanha, who had tucked himself into his side. He had no alarm set for the following morning and he hoped everyone got a good night’s sleep. “I love you all,” he said.

Jinwoo pressed a quick kiss to Bin’s jaw when he was sure the boys weren’t looking. Seongwoo passed out quickly, but Sanha stayed up for a while, looking back and forth between his two pictures. 

“We’ll put those on the nightstand to keep them safe while you sleep, okay? You can hold onto them now though,” Moonbin said. Sanha didn’t say anything, only giving a small nod in response.

It didn’t take much longer for the older of the two boys to nod off, clutching the pictures tight in his tiny fingers. Jinwoo let out a deep sigh.

Moonbin carefully took the pictures out of Sanha’s hands and put them on his nightstand. For the first time all night, he was finally able to devote all of his attention to Jinwoo. He tilted his head and kissed his boyfriend’s forehead. “What happened today?” he asked softly. 

Jinwoo sighed again. “It was fine for the most part,” he said, “he just talked to them about school and Seongwoo and other stuff like that, but when I told him it was time to get going, he got really upset and said he didn’t want to leave them again and that he wanted to visit forever, which is...worrisome.”

Moonbin glanced down at Sanha. “I wonder if he remembers anything,” he said, “when he calms down we can talk to him about visiting. And it might be better now that he has the pictures to come home to.”

“I doubt it,” Jinwoo said, “he was an infant when it happened and he wasn’t even in the car. Hopefully, the pictures will help though. It might be good to consider therapy too, just in case.”

“Yeah, we can definitely look into finding someone. It might help you too,” Moonbin said gently. He didn’t want to upset Jinwoo anymore, but it was a thought for the future. 

“I’m okay,” Jinwoo said, “it was seeing him so upset that really got to me today.”

Moonbin smoothed out Sanha’s hair. “I’ve never seen him that upset over anything before. Hopefully the pictures help and I can bring him back one night after work if he wants,” he said. 

“I’ve never felt my heart break like that,” Jinwoo said softly, “it was like the whole thing was fresh again. It hurt a lot, Bin.”

Moonbin tightened his grip on Jinwoo. “I’m really sorry you had to go through all of that today. And you know it’s okay to cry. You don’t have to hold it all in. I’m here to catch you and make sure you get back on your feet when you’re ready,” he said. 

Jinwoo sighed shakily. “I thought I would be over it or at least at peace with it by now, but I’m not.”

“And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Everyone takes different amounts of time to get through things and sometimes we never do. There’s gonna be good days and bad days and we just gotta take them one at a time,” Moonbin said. 

“I barely even had a relationship with her for the last decade of our lives. I don’t even know why she chose me instead of Sanha’s grandparents, either of them. It certainly would have been better for him,” Jinwoo said with a sigh.

“After everything your parents did there was no way she was sending Sanha to them. I’m sure she had her reasons for picking you,” Moonbin said, “we never would have met if she didn’t.”

“I meant her foster parents,” Jinwoo clarified, “or her husband’s parents. And I know, but I just can’t help but think he would have been better off without me.”

“You’ve done so much for this boy that even if given the option he would never leave you. She trusted you and knew you would take care of her son better than everyone else and she was right. And parents aren’t perfect, but that doesn’t mean our kids are better off without us. It just means we’re humans who get to learn as we go,” Moonbin said. 

“I love Seongwoo to death, but Sanha will always be my baby, and it hurt so much seeing him so upset,” Jinwoo said, “I promised myself I would never make him cry and I broke that promise today.”

“This is something that’s very emotional for both of you. And he’s so young that of course he’s going to react more to something like this. That’s not your fault Jinwoo and I know he’s not upset or mad at you,” Moonbin said. 

Jinwoo could feel his eyes starting to get a little wet. “I hate feeling like there’s nothing I can do to make it better,” he confessed. 

“There’s not always an answer. You can always support Sanha and always be there for him. But for some things all you’ll be able to do is rub his back while he cries and that’s okay. You supporting him and you giving him the pictures is what he needs,” Moonbin said. 

Jinwoo sighed and nodded. He knew that, but it was easy to forget sometimes. “I miss her a lot,” he said, voice suddenly thick, “we didn’t see each other often, but she was my big sister and it’s hard to remember that she’s never coming back.”

“I’m so sorry, babe. I can’t imagine how hard that is. Maybe you could print a picture for your wallet or take some trips down to the cemetery on your own. It’s okay to still miss her. And it’s okay to take a few days to get back on track after today,” Moonbin said. 

“I mean, I’ve handled it for five years, I know I’ll be okay,” Jinwoo said, “it was just rough seeing her face again.”

Moonbin nodded. “I’m really sorry, babe. I wish there was more I could do to help you. If it’s too much, I can always take Sanha back when he wants to go,” he offered. 

“No, I’ll get used to it eventually,” Jinwoo said, “and it really should be a me and him thing.”

“That’s fine. Whatever is best for you two,” Moonbin said, “I’ll always be home at the end of the day for you no matter what happens.”

“Thank you, Bin,” Jinwoo said softly, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Moonbin said, “and I really am sorry you’ve had a rough couple of days. That’s really hard, but we’re gonna get through it. You need to try and get some rest though.”

Jinwoo reached around himself and carefully moved Seongwoo to lay between the two of them. “Night, baby,” he mumbled. 

“Good night, love. I’ll see you in the morning,” Moonbin said. He waited until he was sure Jinwoo was asleep before falling asleep himself. 

The next couple of days were weird. Sanha was still wrapped up in himself, Seongwoo was still cautious of him, and Bin was overbearingly understanding. Jinwoo had the day off from classes on Friday and was very happy to stay home with his boys. 

Seongwoo had spent all morning digging through the toy box for what he wanted. After strewing all of their toys across the floor, he finally found what he was looking for. “Hyung, color with me?” he asked, holding the box of crayons and coloring book out to his brother. “No, Seongie. Go color with Jinsam,” Sanha said. He was curled up in bed, one arm around his favorite stuffed animal and holding onto his pictures. “But I don’t wanna,” Seongwoo whined.

Jinwoo took a few steps down the hall to check on the boys and found Seongwoo pouting among a pile of toys. “You guys being good?” he asked. 

“Sanha hyung won’t color with me!” Seongwoo said, crossing his arms. “Jinsam, don’t make me. I don’t want to,” Sanha begged. He stared up at his uncle with big eyes.

“Why not, Sanha? You love coloring,” Jinwoo said, stepping into the room.

Sanha tightened his grip on his animal and the pictures. “Because,” Sanha said, which wasn’t much of an answer, “Seongie can color with you.”

“Sanha, you’ve been pretty rude to your brother all week,” Jinwoo said gently, “what’s going on, bud?”

“I’m not being rude,” Sanha insisted, “I just don’t wanna play.” He dropped his eyes back to the bed. Was he going to get in trouble?

“Seongie, why don’t you go in the living room and pick out a movie for everyone?” Jinwoo suggested. He and Sanha needed to talk. 

Seongwoo dropped the coloring onto the floor and skipped into the living room to pick a movie. Sanha whimpered quietly. “Don’t be mad at me,” begged in a small voice. 

“I’m not mad at you, kiddo,” Jinwoo said, sitting down on the edge of Sanha’s bed, “I just want to know what’s going on.”

Sanha sniffed. He looked up at Jinwoo for a minute before dropping his stuffed animal and crawling into his uncle’s lap. 

Jinwoo hugged Sanha tightly. “You know, you can play with mommy and daddy and Seongie all at the same time,” he said tentatively. 

Sanha curled into Jinwoo’s chest. “How? I don’t want Seongie to ruin my pictures,” he mumbled.

“That’s why your pictures have the plastic on them, so we can clean them if they get dirty,” Jinwoo explained, “Seongie knows they’re important to you; he won’t do anything to them on purpose.”

“I don’t want to share them,” Sanha said. He turned his head and buried it further into Jinwoo’s neck. 

“You told them all about Seongie,” Jinwoo said, “what’s different about telling Seongie about them?”

“He won’t get it. He has his mommy and daddy,” Sanha said miserably, “you can tell him.”

“Seongwoo doesn’t have his mommy or daddy either, just in a different way,” Jinwoo explained gently, “his mommy’s in permanent time out and his daddy...his daddy didn’t want a baby.”

Sanha looked up at Jinwoo with big eyes. “Did my mommy and daddy want a baby?” he asked quietly. He and Seongwoo really weren’t as different as he thought. 

“Yes, they did,” Jinwoo said, “they were so, so happy that you were born, Sanha.”

Sanha smiled at that and hid his face again. “Did you want a baby, Jinsam? And Binnie too?” he asked. 

“I did,” Jinwoo said, “I didn’t expect to have a baby as early in life as I did, but I’ve always loved babies.”

Sanha hugged his uncle tighter. “Are we gonna get another baby?” he asked.

“Not anytime soon,” Jinwoo said, “you and Seongie are more than enough for me.”

Sanha pouted. “What about Binnie? Does he like babies too?” he asked next. 

“Binnie loves babies,” Jinwoo said with a soft smile, “Binnie loves babies even more than I do, but babies are hard work.”

“Babies aren’t hard! I helped with Seongie and he was easy,” Sanha said, “Jinsam, we should get another baby.”

“Babies are harder than you think,” Jinwoo said, “remember every time Seongie would wake you up crying, I told you to go back to sleep? Binnie and I had to stay up every time until Seongie was fed and changed and fell back asleep.”

Sanha huffed. “I bet Binnie will say yes,” he said. He laid the pictures in this lap so he could cross his arms.

“I’m not saying no, Sanha,” Jinwoo said, “I’m saying not right now. Maybe in a few years when you and Seongie are both in school.”

Sanha perked up. “We have to tell Seongie!” he paused, “you have to tell Seongie.”

“Let’s wait until Binnie gets home, okay?” Jinwoo said, hoping this would blow over by then. 

“Okay,” Sanha agreed. He squirmed a little in Jinwoo’s lap. “Can we watch the movie now? I wanna show Seongie my pictures.”

“Of course, kiddo, you go find Seongie while I set up the TV, okay?”

Sanha nodded and crawled out of Jinwoo’s lap. He wandered into the living room to find his brother playing on the floor. “Do you wanna see my pictures?” he asked quietly. Seongwoo nodded and sat up a little straighter. 

Jinwoo followed Sanha and grabbed the movie Seongwoo had picked out so he could set up the DVD player. He then left them alone in the living room so Sanha could tell Seongie all about his parents. 

Sanha didn’t let Seongwoo hold any of the pictures, but he let his brother see both of them. He told his brother all about how nice his parents were and how they loved babies and how his mommy was a teacher and liked sandwiches and his daddy’s work was just like Binnie. Seongwoo listened attentively, eyes darting back and forth between the pictures. 

Jinwoo watched from the doorway as Sanha told Seongwoo about his aunt and uncle. It was good to see him finally opening up after he’d been closed off for so many days. “They in time out like my mommy?” Seongwoo asked when Sanha had finished. 

Sanha deflated and shook his head. “They’re asleep...for good,” he said sadly. He pulled the pictures back towards himself and stared down at them. 

“Oh,” Seongwoo said, not quite understanding. He could tell his brother was sad, so he scooted closer and hugged Sanha tightly. 

Sanha paused for a moment before putting his pictures down on the floor and hugging his brother back. “Jinsam promised he would never go to sleep. He’s gonna stay with us forever and ever,” he said. 

“Jinsam way better than my mommy,” Seongwoo said, “Jinsam stay.”

“Jinsam’s always gonna stay. Binnie too,” Sanha promised. He glanced up, not realizing his uncle was standing right there. 

“We’ll always be here for both of you,” Jinwoo said firmly, “I promise.”

Sanha stood up and dragged Seongwoo across the room over to Jinwoo. He wrapped himself around one of his uncle’s legs while Seongwoo wrapped himself around the other. Neither of the boys so much as blinked when the door opened, signaling Moonbin was home. 

Jinwoo crouched down, picking up both of his boys with a grunt. They were getting so big and he was only so tall.

Sanha smiled, remembering that Jinwoo said he would stay strong for him. “I love you, Jinsam. I love you, Seongie,” he said. He would have to tell Moonbin too when he came into the room. 

“I love you both so much,” Jinwoo said, kissing each boy on the cheek before carefully dropping them on the couch.

Sanha giggled when he was dropped on the couch. “Hi, boys,” Moonbin greeted, finally walking over and giving each of his boys a kiss on the cheek, “how was everyone’s day?”

“We had a good day today, right boys?” Jinwoo said with a smile. Both boys nodded happily before Seongwoo gasped. “The movie!” he said dramatically. 

“And my pictures!” Sanha said. “Alright, alright, let me get the pictures and start the movie,” Moonbin said. He pressed play on the DVD player and scooped up Sanha’s pictures from the floor to give to the boy. Once the boys were settled, he whisked Jinwoo into the kitchen. “I missed you today,” he said with a pout. 

“I missed you too,” Jinwoo said, leaning up to kiss Moonbin’s pout, “how was your day?”

Moonbin hummed happily. “It was good. I like this place so much better than my old job. There isn’t much more room to go up, but if I can help them grow their company, there will be,” he said, “although I do miss spending time home with you and the boys during the week.”

“We miss you too,” Jinwoo said, “but we’re all busy so it’s okay. I’m just glad you’re enjoying work.”

Moonbin smiled softly. “And how was your day?” he asked. Almost automatically, his arms slid around Jinwoo’s waist to pull the older man closer.

“Good,” Jinwoo said, “I had another heart to heart with Sanha about his parents, but everything’s okay.”

“I haven’t seen him that all over Seongwoo in days so I’m glad it went well. I don’t think I’ve even heard him laugh in that long either,” Moonbin said. Now that he was thinking about it Sanha had been horribly downtrodden since the trip to the cemetery. 

“He was worried that he couldn’t play with them and Seongie together or the pictures would get ruined, and that Seongie wouldn’t understand why he was sad because his parents are still alive,” Jinwoo said, “but we cleared everything up.”

“Oh good. I’m glad that he finally came around,” Moonbin said, “and how are you doing? Better?” His eyes roamed Jinwoo’s face, making sure his boyfriend didn’t lie to him. 

“Yeah,” Jinwoo said with a small sigh, “it helps to see Sanha not so upset anymore.”

The small smile on Moonbin’s face widened. “I’m glad you’re feeling better,” he said, “why don’t you go enjoy the movie with the boys and I’ll meet you in the living room after a shower?” He was still in his slacks and a button up and wanted to get changed before he joined his boys.

“Sure,” Jinwoo said, “I was thinking we could just order out for dinner.”

“That’s a good idea,” Moonbin said. He leaned down to gently kiss Jinwoo again. “We’re doing a date night this weekend. I talked to Myungjun and he already agreed to watch the boys.”

“Alright,” Jinwoo said. It didn’t seem like he had a choice in the matter. “Go shower,” he said.

Moonbin released Jinwoo to go back to the boys. When he wandered back into the living room fifteen minutes later, both boys had glued themselves to Jinwoo’s side with their eyes trained on the TV. Without making a sound, Moonbin lowered himself into the armchair and watched his boys.

Jinwoo was settled between the boys, watching the movie absently. It was a cute animated kids movie that he could easily tune out by sneaking glances at Bin. 

Moonbin smiled when he caught Jinwoo looking over at him. He alternated winking and blowing kisses to his boyfriend each time he looked back over. 

Jinwoo rolled his eyes at Bin’s antics. His boyfriend was so ridiculous, but he wouldn’t trade this moment for anything. 

Moonbin stuck his tongue out after Jinwoo rolled his eyes. The boys were completely engrossed in the movie and were none the wiser as to what was going on. 

“Go call for pizza,” Jinwoo mouthed to Bin over the boys’ heads. 

“What’s the magic word?” Moonbin mouthed back. He raised an eyebrow, milking the chance to mess with Jinwoo as much as he could. 

Jinwoo raised his eyes, unimpressed. “Go,” he mouthed again. 

Moonbin pouted and made a show of getting out of the chair. He went into the kitchen to call for pizza. Once it was ordered, he made a show of coming back into the living room with his arms crossed and the pout back on his face.

While Bin was in the other room, Jinwoo had convinced the boys to attack him as soon as he got back. The moment he sat back down, they dogpiled him. 

Moonbin broke out into a smile when the boys climbed all over him. “Ah, Jinwoo, help! I’m being attacked! I don’t think I can survive all these cuddles,” he shouted dramatically. Both boys giggled and didn’t let up on Moonbin.

Jinwoo paused the movie and simply sat back to watch all his boys. He loved his family so much and he had no idea what he would do if he lost them.

Moonbin wrapped his arms around both boys, preventing them from getting away. “You’ll never escape me! Jinwoo, what do you think is a fitting punishment for attacking me? I’m thinking some tickles might suffice,” he said. Seongwoo shrieked and wiggled against Moonbin’s grip. 

“Oh, I don’t know if tickles will be enough,” Jinwoo said, “these two are real troublemakers.”

“Tickles not enough? Oh boy, oh boy whatever should I do?” Moonbin asked. Before anyone answered he stood up with a groan and hauled the boys off to the bedroom. Seongwoo was still small enough that he could lift the boy with one hand to drop him onto his bed. Sanha was a little heavier so he used both hands to hold the boy up higher before dropping him onto his own bed too.

Jinwoo laughed as he followed the boys down the hallway. “Don’t go too hard on them,” he said, leaning on the doorframe. 

Judging by the boys’ gleeful laughs, they were fine. “Again, again,” Seongwoo said, standing up and reaching his arms out. Moonbin obliged and smiled when Seongwoo burst into giggles again. “Your turn,” Sanha said. “I can’t do this on your beds but I can on ours,” he said.

“I think dinner is almost here,” Jinwoo intervened, “let’s go get our hands washed, okay?”

“Jinsam,” Seongwoo whined. “It’s alright boys. Consider this your lucky day. Next time you won’t get out of punishment so easily. Now go wash your hands before the pizza gets here,” Moonbin said. 

The boys both raced off to the bathroom and Jinwoo took the opportunity to accost Bin and kiss him senseless. “You think you’re cute?” he asked when he pulled away. 

Moonbin had to take a second to compose himself from getting attacked for the second time that night. “I know I’m cute,” he replied cheekily. 

“You really think so, huh?” Jinwoo teased, “your ego, Bin-ssi, it’s astounding.”

“Until you produce evidence to prove otherwise, I rest my case,” Moonbin said. He drew himself up to his full height and couldn’t help the lopsided smirk that found its way onto his face.

“You’re too tall to be cute,” Jinwoo decided, “you’re hot though.”

Moonbin immediately slumped. “I’m not hot,” he whined, “and height has nothing to do with it. I can be cute if I want to damn it.”

“You’re hot as fuck,” Jinwoo said firmly, “and that’s a fact.”

“Shut up,” Moonbin muttered. He leaned down to silence Jinwoo himself with a firm kiss. 

Jinwoo smiled into the kiss, pulling away abruptly when the doorbell rang. “Pizza!” Seongwoo yelled, racing down the hallway.

“Don’t think you’re getting away with this that easily,” Moonbin grumbled. He let go of Jinwoo to get their pizza and wrangled the two boys into the kitchen to eat. 

The rest of the night was fantastic. The boys finished out the movie and passed out on the couch, which gave Jinwoo and Bin plenty of time together. 

Moonbin took a picture of the boys sleeping together. They really were so adorable. He felt bad moving them but they couldn’t stay there. After he got both boys into bed he went back into the living room to find Jinwoo. “I’m mad at you,” he announced dramatically. 

“For what?” Jinwoo questioned innocently. Certainly, this was leading somewhere good. 

“You’re so stubborn. I’m cute and you know it! And on top of that, you sicked the boys on me earlier. I think that’s grounds for revenge,” Moonbin said.

“What sort of revenge do you have in mind?” Jinwoo asked, pulling Bin to sit down next to him.

Moonbin pushed Jinwoo to lay down and hovered over his boyfriend. “I will cover you in hickeys that will last all the way until your next class if you don’t give in and admit I’m right,” he said. 

Jinwoo raised his eyebrows at the challenge. “How very un-cute of you,” he pointed out. 

Moonbin pouted. “Why are you being like this?” he whined childishly, “you’re so mean to me.” 

“Why is it so bad that I don’t think you’re cute?” Jinwoo asked, “isn’t it better to be hot anyway?”

“There’s only room in a relationship for one hot person and since you fill that role, I’m the cute one,” Moonbin explained. Sure he was fairly good looking, but hot never felt like the right word to describe him. Especially when he paled in comparison to how gorgeous Jinwoo was.

“I’m fairly certain that’s not a rule and even if it is, it’s you, not me,” Jinwoo said, shaking his head. He was far from anything near hot. 

“I made it a rule and since it’s my rule what I say goes. You’re the hot one and no, I don’t take constructive criticism,” Moonbin said. He finally leaned down, tired of playing around. 

“I’m clearly the cute one since I’m so small,” Jinwoo protested.

Moonbin chuckled. “You are absolutely adorable,” he agreed. He kissed the tip of Jinwoo’s nose. “And you are absolutely tiny. Sanha’s gonna be taller than you soon.” He felt a little bad for teasing Jinwoo about his height, but sometimes he couldn’t help it.

Jinwoo huffed. “He’s already almost taller than me,” he grumbled. Sanha wasn’t, but it certainly felt like he was. 

“Aw, is my baby gonna get dwarfed by his nephews soon?” Moonbin teased, “that’s so adorable.”

“We don’t know about Seongwoo yet, he could be tiny,” Jinwoo defended. He pouted as he thought about Sanha growing taller than him. 

“That’s true. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Too bad they couldn’t be small babies forever,” Moonbin said. His fingers played with the hem of Jinwoo’s shirt. He was itching to get his hands all over his boyfriend.

“Sanha was asking for another baby this afternoon,” Jinwoo said, “I told him not until Seongwoo’s in school.”

Moonbin froze. “Sanha wants another baby in the house? Oh no. I know Seongwoo’s going to school soon, but hopefully he forgets until then,” he paused, “wait, you told him yes? Did you mean it?”

“I mean, I was really trying to prevent a tantrum, but I kinda miss having a baby in the house,” Jinwoo admitted. 

Moonbin exhaled shakily. “Oh, Jinwoo. I love you and I love the boys but we can’t bring another baby into the house. We don’t have the room, on top of your school and my new job. We’ll never be able to get the time off we need. And where would we get another baby anyway?” he asked. He sat up and pulled his boyfriend with him.

“And that’s why I said not now,” Jinwoo said. He wasn’t dumb; he knew how much time babies required. 

“I know, I know. Let’s get Seongwoo in school and us into a house that fits us and then… then we can talk about a baby if you and Sanha really still want another one,” Moonbin said. 

Jinwoo smiled softly. It might be nice to have a little baby around the house again. 

Moonbin sighed when he saw Jinwoo’s expression. “What’s gotten into you? What happened to my big bad boyfriend that never wanted kids? Did the boys melt your frozen heart?” he asked, only half teasing. 

“I never wanted kids that I could fuck up,” Jinwoo said, “but I’m not in a position to do that anymore.”

Now it was Moonbin’s turn to smile. “You really underestimate how amazing you were for Sanha from the very beginning,” he said, “you know, we could look into fostering a baby.”

“I was only amazing for Sanha in that he didn’t die,” Jinwoo said, shaking his head. He turned Bin’s suggestion over in his mind. “We still don’t have time or space right now,” he said. 

“No, we don’t, but if you’re serious about this, that’s an option to look into. Once I get fully settled in this job and I know it’s gonna work out, we can start looking at some new places. But for now, I just want to enjoy you,” Moonbin said. 

“I don’t know how the boys would handle fostering,” Jinwoo said, “they’ve both already lost so much.”

Moonbin nodded. “We can look into adopting then,” he said easily, “but not now. Not until we’re completely settled in a new place.”

“We should probably start looking, huh?” Jinwoo said slowly. 

“I think so. Although I’m a little hesitant to bring it up with how Sanha reacted last time you guys moved,” Moonbin said. 

“He was fine when we moved in with you,” Jinwoo said, “and I’m still convinced our last apartment was haunted, so.”

Moonbin chuckled quietly. “I don’t think haunted is the right word, but whatever you say, babe,” he said.

“Whatever,” Jinwoo said dismissively, “at least it wasn’t moldy like the other one.”

“That’s true,” Moonbin said through a yawn. “Look at what you’ve done. All this moving and baby talk made me tired and now I can’t get you back for calling me not cute.”

“You’ve discovered my master plan,” Jinwoo said in mock offense, “now I’ll have to kill you.”

“God, at least make it quick,” Moonbin said, leaning back against the couch, “you need time to get rid of my body before the boys wake up and I don’t want to suffer.”

“Face in a pillow, you won’t feel a thing,” Jinwoo joked. 

“I’ll even help you by doing a faceplant in bed,” Moonbin said, pulling himself off of the couch. He turned around and offered a hand to Jinwoo. 

Jinwoo took Moonbin’s hand and followed him down the hall to their bedroom. He didn’t even bother to change before toppling into bed. 

“You don’t look to be in a very murdery mood, babe,” Moonbin teased. He got changed before crawling into bed and all but laying on top of his boyfriend.

“It’s called lulling you into a false sense of security,” Jinwoo mumbled, hugging a pillow and groaning as Bin laid on top of him.

“Oh, I see,” Moonbin said. He kissed the back of Jinwoo’s neck before rolling away and wrapping himself around a pillow instead. “Well I’ll be over here whenever.”

Jinwoo smiled to himself and turned his head to face his boyfriend. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I lost you,” he said softly. 

Moonbin turned to look at Jinwoo. “Hey, don’t think like that. You aren’t gonna lose me and even if you did, I know you’d be strong enough to make it,” he said. 

“I wouldn’t want to,” Jinwoo said, “I would do it, for the boys, but I wouldn’t want to do it without you.”

“You won’t have to,” Moonbin assured, “the only way you’re getting rid of me is if you don’t want me here anymore. And even then you’re gonna have a hard time getting rid of me.” He scooted closer and kissed Jinwoo’s forehead. 

“I’ll never not want you here,” Jinwoo said, “no matter how annoying you get.”

Moonbin smiled. “Good. And you don’t even know what annoying looks like,” he said. He leaned back a little and opened his arms for his boyfriend. 

Jinwoo settled into Bin’s arms happily. There was nowhere else he would rather be. 

Moonbin kissed the top of Jinwoo’s head. “God I love you so, so much. I don’t even know where I’d be without you. And I hope you know letting go of you in the morning to go to work is the hardest thing I’ll ever have to do,” he said. 

“Alright, that’s enough sappy for one night,” Jinwoo said, “you’re gonna make me emotional.”

“If it gets you to call me cute, I’ll take it,” Moonbin teased. He dropped it after that. The real emotions could come during their date night.

Jinwoo still wasn’t completely on board with date night. He would much rather just stay home and spend time with Moonbin instead of going out to a fancy dinner, but Bin didn’t give him much of a choice. 

Moonbin hadn’t had a chance to treat Jinwoo out to a nice meal with just the two of them and he wanted to take advantage of it. While they were waiting for dessert, he propped his elbow on the table and rested his chin on it. Shamelessly, his eyes wandered around Jinwoo’s face. “How did I get so lucky?” he asked. He was hoping distracting Jinwoo would prevent his boyfriend from catching onto his nerves. He had something special planned for when they got home, but he didn’t know how it would go.

“Shut up,” Jinwoo mumbled, “why are you like this, huh? Who raised you to be such a flirt?”

Moonbin shrugged. “I’m like this ‘cause I love you. And I don’t really know. It just...happened. I will admit I wasn’t this much of a sap before I met you,” he said. 

Jinwoo rolled his eyes fondly. Fortunately, the waiter dropped off their dessert and the check not long after and he was able to hide his flushed cheeks behind some cake. 

Moonbin took a little bit of frosting on his finger and smudged it on Jinwoo’s nose. He sat back with a content face and licked his finger clean. 

Jinwoo wrinkled his nose and wiped the frosting off with his napkin. “That’s gross,” he informed Bin, “and you’re gonna pay for it when we get home.”

Moonbin raised an eyebrow. “Oh am I? And how exactly am I going to pay for it?” he challenged. 

“I’ll decide when we get there,” Jinwoo said, licking the last of the frosting off of his fork.

Moonbin put his card pack into his wallet and stole a bite of cake. “I can’t wait to see what you come up with. Is it gonna be like last time when you just connived me into cuddling on the couch with you?” he teased. 

“I can’t be blamed for you getting distracted,” Jinwoo said, “that’s your own fault.” He stood up from the table, waiting for Bin.

Moonbin chuckled. He stood up and took Jinwoo’s hand into his own, hoping it would stop his from shaking. He led them to the car and off to home they went. 

Jinwoo was glad to get home and be able to get out of his nice clothes and into ratty sweatpants. He curled up in bed, waiting for Bin to join him. 

Moonbin stood in the bathroom, both hands on the counter and staring into the mirror. He hadn’t gotten changed yet. He was too busy trying to work up the courage to go out and ask Jinwoo the question he had been wanting to ask him for months. There wasn’t a better opportunity then now and he had no idea why he was so nervous. Taking a deep breath, he smoothed out his hair for the millionth time and went to find Jinwoo. 

“Baby, what’s taking so long?” Jinwoo whined, rolling onto his stomach when Bin walked into the room. “Come on, get changed and come cuddle me.”

Moonbin smiled softly. “I have to ask you something first,” he said nervously. He sat down on the bed and took Jinwoo’s hands into his. “I’ve loved you for so long and until recently our relationship has always been enough, but I want more. I want to be able to call you mine forever. I want the world to know you’re mine. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” He pulled a small box out of his pocket with shaky hands. “Jinwoo, will you be mine? Forever?” 

Jinwoo was in shock. He didn’t know what to say or how to respond in the slightest, aside from promptly bursting into tears. Which he did. 

Moonbin started to panic. “Hey, hey, it’s okay,” he said soothingly. He set the box aside and wrapped Jinwoo in his arms. 

Jinwoo clung to Bin tightly. Obviously, he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Bin, but he hadn’t expected his boyfriend to feel the same.

Moonbin rubbed Jinwoo’s back gently. “Please don’t cry. I didn’t mean to make you upset,” he said. 

“I’m n-not upset,” Jinwoo sobbed, “I’m s-so fucking happy!”

Moonbin heaved a sigh of relief. “Oh my God, I love you so much,” he said happily, “just breathe, babe. I’ll wait as long as you need to calm down.”

Jinwoo cried for another minute before finally forcing himself to calm down. “I love you,” he said, kissing Bin deeply. 

Moonbin hummed into the kiss. It took all of his self control not to pull Jinwoo into his lap so he unwrapped his arms and threaded their hands together instead. 

“Of course, I will marry you,” Jinwoo said finally, “tomorrow if you want.”

Moonbin smiled widely. “I would agree to that, but you deserve something proper,” he said. He reached for the box and opened it, letting Jinwoo see the ring before sliding it onto his finger. 

The ring glittered prettily in the low lamplight. Jinwoo turned his hand, admiring it. He couldn’t believe this was real.

Moonbin leaned over and kissed Jinwoo’s cheek. “And I know this might be too soon, but I also want to officially adopt the boys. You’re all my family and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to call them my sons. I understand if you don’t feel comfortable doing that though. They’ll still always be my boys,” he said quietly. 

“I...Bin…” Jinwoo trailed off, unable to speak. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I know, but I  _ want  _ to,” Moonbin emphasized, “only if you and the boys are okay with it though. I love them both and I really do consider them my own. And that way I’ll be able to protect them better too.”

“If you want to talk to the boys about it, you have my full support,” Jinwoo said with a wide smile.

“Thank you so much,” Moonbin breathed. He pulled Jinwoo back towards him to kiss him again. 

“They may not agree right away,” Jinwoo said, “especially Sanha. You have to approach them carefully.”

“And if they don’t agree at all that’s okay,” Moonbin said, “I’ll love them all the same.” 

“They love you too, but they might not understand the concept of it all,” Jinwoo said. 

“We’ll see when I talk to them. But I’ll talk to them tomorrow, tonight I want to focus on you,” Moonbin said.

“God, I can’t believe I cried like that,” Jinwoo said, wiping his face. 

Moonbin stood from the bed to get some tissues for Jinwoo. “It just proves you’re sappier than me,” he teased. 

Jinwoo took the tissues gratefully. “You really surprised me,” he said, “it wasn’t even a thought in my mind.”

“Really?” Moonbin asked, a little shocked, “I’ve been trying to work up the nerve to ask you for months. I was more nervous to propose than to ask about the boys.”

“I was sure you were going to leave me after I told you about Jisoo,” Jinwoo said, “but here we are.”

“I would never. You deserve someone in your life who isn’t going to run away from you when something goes different than planned. And I know you’ll always have Dongmin, but that’s different,” Moonbin said. 

“I love you,” Jinwoo said, tearing up again, “god, you’re fucking amazing, Bin.”

Moonbin felt his cheeks flush. “I’m not that amazing,” he said shyly, “I’m just trying to give you the life you’ve always deserved. And I love you a lot too and I’m gonna love you forever and ever and ever.”

“You’d better,” Jinwoo said, “or I’ll be really, really sad.”

Moonbin took Jinwoo’s hands in his own again. “I will. I promise,” he said sincerely. “Let me get changed and I’ll show you just how much I love you.”

Well. Jinwoo was certainly intrigued by that. He did tend to love Bin’s physical declarations of affection.

Moonbin stood up from the bed to get changed. He forgoed a shirt, knowing it would just end up on the floor anyway. Deciding to take things slow at first, he climbed back onto the bed and kissed Jinwoo softly. 

Jinwoo slowly laid back, pulling Moonbin on top of him. They didn’t take things this slow very often, but he was enjoying it. 

Moonbin held himself up so he didn’t crush Jinwoo. It was nice to have the whole night in front of them so he could take all the time he needed to show his boy...fiancé how much he loves him. “I can’t believe I finally get to call you my fiancé,” he said with a small smile.

“It’s gonna take me a while to get used to saying that,” Jinwoo said, “I wonder what the boys are gonna think when they see the ring.”

“They’re probably gonna want their own,” Moonbin said, “that, and hopefully they’ll think it’s pretty.” He pressed soft kisses up and down Jinwoo’s jaw, but he wasn’t planning on leaving any marks tonight. 

Jinwoo tilted his head to allow Bin easier access for whatever he chose to do. He was leaving himself in his fiancé’s hands tonight. 

“Do you trust me?” Moonbin asked quietly, “I want to show you how much I love you and prove to you that I’m yours forever.”

“Of course,” Jinwoo breathed, “I trust you with everything. What’s mine is yours.”

Any other day Moonbin would tease Jinwoo and take advantage of being in control. But not tonight. Tonight he just wanted Jinwoo to feel loved. He continued kissing around Jinwoo’s face until he was sure he had covered every bit of skin. Pulling back slightly, he slid both hands under Jinwoo’s shirt. “Take this off for me, baby,” he murmured. 

Jinwoo sat up slightly and pulled the shirt over his head, tossing it somewhere else before laying back down. He was shivering slightly; the room was cold and he was a little nervous. 

Moonbin leaned back down, practically draping himself over Jinwoo. “We don’t have to do anything,” he whispered as he started to kiss down his fiancé’s neck. 

“I’m game for whatever you want to do,” Jinwoo said, “I don’t care either way.”

“You’re shivering, babe,” Moonbin pointed out, “I can easily warm you up, but you have to promise you’ll tell me to stop if it gets to be too much.” He worked his way across Jinwoo’s chest, nipping at the skin, but not hard enough to leave a mark. 

“It’s freezing in here,” Jinwoo said with a pout. His breath caught in his throat as Bin started nipping at his chest. He hadn’t been in this position in a while and he had forgotten how good it felt. 

“You’ll be sweating soon, I promise,” Moonbin said. He started kissing down Jinwoo’s torso making sure he covered every inch of skin with a kiss before he reached the waistband of his pants. “Can I take these off?” he asked. 

“Please,” Jinwoo whined. He was already straining against the front of the sweatpants, just from a little kissing. 

Moonbin could tell Jinwoo was just as eager as he was so he wasted no time taking his fiancé’s pants and underwear off. He massaged one of Jinwoo’s thighs with one hand, before kissing up the other one. After nipping at Jinwoo’s hip, Moonbin pulled away again. Taking a deep breath, he finally took the head of Jinwoo’s cock into his mouth.

Jinwoo groaned when the velvet of Bin’s mouth surrounded the head of his cock. Bin was genuinely so good at this and Jinwoo was content to just rub his fingers through his fiancé’s hair and tug gently. 

Moonbin moaned quietly when Jinwoo tugged on his hair. He bobbed his head slowly, not to tease Jinwoo, but to take his time and make sure his fiancé enjoyed this as much as possible. Gradually he moved his head down further, taking more of Jinwoo into his mouth. 

Jinwoo’s whole body shuddered. That was the best part of taking things this slow; everything felt so much more. “Shit, Bin,” he hissed. 

Moonbin smiled to himself, albeit a little proud of the reactions he was drawing out of Jinwoo. Greedy for more, he sunk down to the base of Jinwoo’s cock, taking his fiancé into his throat, and swallowing. 

Jinwoo jerked forward, grip on Bin’s hair tightening. “Do that again,” he requested in a moan.

Moonbin obliged. It was odd to not tease his fiancé a little, but it was a welcomed change of pace. All he wanted to do was make Jinwoo feel good, and judging by the expression on the older man’s face, he was succeeding. 

“I’m gonna cum,” Jinwoo mumbled. He released Bin’s hair, trying to push his boyfriend off.

Moonbin pulled off of Jinwoo and wiped the back of his hand with his mouth. He sat up and stared down at his fiancé. “God you are so gorgeous,” he said appreciatively. 

Jinwoo flushes even deeper than he already was. “Shut up,” he mumbled, “I hate you.”

“No way. You agreed to deal with me forever and this is what you get,” Moonbin said. He leaned down to steal a kiss before reaching for his nightstand. 

Jinwoo pouted, but his eyes betrayed him and followed Bin’s hand toward the nightstand. “Why is it that you always have the lube?” he mused aloud.

“Well, I put it back after we used it last time and that’s where it stayed,” Moonbin said with a shrug. He opened the bottle and squeezed some onto his fingers. 

“Sure, you did,” Jinwoo teased. He easily let his legs fall open for Bin.

Moonbin rolled his eyes. “I know this isn’t the only bottle in the house,” he said. He was a little surprised how willing Jinwoo was to let him take control. His fiancé never gave up the reins this easily. 

“Well, of course you would know where you hide your extras,” Jinwoo said, “you just better hope the boys don’t find any of them.”

“I hide my  _ bottle  _ just fine,” Moonbin said. He finally reached down and pressed a finger to Jinwoo’s entrance, knowing that would distract his boyfriend. 

“Where is it? The shower?” Jinwoo teased, “the couch? The  _ kitchen _ ?”

“You’re looking at it,” Moonbin said with a shake of his head, “but knock it off. You’re talking too much.” He leaned down to quiet Jinwoo by kissing him before slowly pushing a finger in. 

Jinwoo groaned as Bin’s finger finally entered him. He wasn’t used to the intrusion and it took a moment for the discomfort to go away. 

Moonbin peppered kisses around Jinwoo’s face until the expression of discomfort disappeared. “You’re so amazing,” he whispered, slowly beginning to move his finger.

Jinwoo tried to force himself to relax, but his body wasn’t having it. He took a deep breath, moving his head to fine Bin’s lips with his own. 

Moonbin could feel how tense Jinwoo was underneath him so he stopped moving his finger. He kissed his fiancé back instead. This he could never get tired of. 

As they made out, Jinwoo felt himself slowly begin to relax. He finally pulled away from Bin, murmuring that he could move. 

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Moonbin whispered, “we can do something else, babe, it’s okay.”

“You won’t hurt me,” Jinwoo assured him, “I’m just tense.”

Moonbin kissed Jinwoo again before moving his finger. “You’re so perfect,” he mumbled in between kisses. 

“Don’t say that,” Jinwoo mumbled, “don’t hold me so high. Please.”

“Someone has to and I’m not about to let it be anyone else,” Moonbin said. He pulled away from Jinwoo’s mouth to kiss down his jaw.

Jinwoo whined, both at Bin’s comment and at his mouth. “Either move faster or use another finger, I’m dying here,” he muttered. 

Moonbin obediently pushed in another finger. He didn’t mean to be so cautious, but he would never forgive himself if he hurt Jinwoo.

Jinwoo groaned, forcing himself to relax again. It definitely stung now, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. 

Moonbin kept peppering gentle kisses around Jinwoo’s face. He took his time prepping his fiancé. It was almost teasingly slow, but eventually he worked Jinwoo up to three fingers. 

Jinwoo’s eyes were lidded and he was panting heavily by the time three fingers no longer stung. “I think I’m ready, Bin,” he mumbled. 

Moonbin pulled out his fingers and wiped them on the sheets. “Do you want to use a condom tonight?” he asked. 

“Please,” Jinwoo said, “I’m not gonna wanna shower after.”

Moonbin smiled softly and reached for the nightstand again. “Do I get a little help or am I on my own tonight?” he asked. 

“You tell me,” Jinwoo said, “you’re in charge tonight, remember?”

“I’ll do it tonight, but you owe me next time. I want you to enjoy tonight,” Moonbin said. He sat up so he could grab a condom and roll it on.

Jinwoo rolled his eyes but shifted a little further up the bed to give Bin more room. 

Moonbin slicked himself up before leaning down again. “Are you ready, baby?” he asked quietly. 

Jinwoo took a deep breath and nodded. He hoped it wouldn’t hurt too badly. Bin had done quite a bit of stretching but he was still nervous. 

Moonbin lined himself up, but paused a moment before pushing in. He kept a nervous eye on Jinwoo’s face to make sure he wasn’t hurting his fiancé. 

Jinwoo felt his face scrunch up, but the pain wasn’t all that intolerable. While Bin was long, he was average girth, which helped. 

Moonbin continued kissing all around Jinwoo’s face. “I’m so sorry, babe,” he murmured.

“It’s okay, I’m okay,” Jinwoo assured him, “just...give me a minute.”

“Take as long as you need,” Moonbin said, “and we can stop too.” He really wanted Jinwoo to enjoy his night, not spend all of it in discomfort. 

“No, I want to keep going,” Jinwoo insisted, “I just need a second to adjust.”

Moonbin nodded. He kissed down Jinwoo’s neck, nipping at the skin ever so slightly. One hand massaged his fiancé’s thigh, trying to relax him more.

Eventually, Jinwoo squeezed down around Bin and started to slowly roll his own hips. He moaned loudly. 

Moonbin was completely caught off guard when Jinwoo started moving. “Y-You feel so good,” he stuttered out. He tried to keep himself from moving his own hips, but his self control wasn’t strong enough. 

“You can move,” Jinwoo managed to gasp out, “Please, Bin, please move.”

Moonbin didn’t need to be told twice. He rolled his hips against Jinwoo’s. The hand on his fiancé’s thigh tightened. Groaning loudly, he tucked his head into Jinwoo’s neck. 

Between Bin’s movements and his tight grip on his thigh, Jinwoo was barely holding on. It was pathetic how close he already was. 

“You’re so perfect, Jinwoo, and now you’re really all mine,” Moonbin murmured. He carefully picked Jinwoo’s leg up so he could thrust into his fiancé at a new angle. “God, you feel so good.”

Jinwoo didn’t even have time to warm Bin before he was cumming hard all over both of them. “Fuck,” he moaned out, “shit, that’s amazing.”

Moonbin nearly lost it when Jinwoo clenched around him. “I’m almost there, babe,” he whispered. He fucked Jinwoo through his orgasm and came not long after, filling the condom with a loud moan. 

Jinwoo moaned softly. He clung to Bin, shaking in sensitivity and exhaustion. “I love you,” he breathed. 

“I love you too,” Moonbin whispered. He laid Jinwoo’s leg back on the bed and kissed his fiancé gently.

Jinwoo sighed and kissed the side of Bin’s neck before kissing him properly. “You still sure you wanna marry me?” He panted. 

“Of course,” Moonbin said immediately, “there’s not a single thing in this world that would change how I feel about you. I love you so much, Jinwoo, you have no idea.”

Jinwoo flushed. He didn’t think he could feel any more embarrassed, but here he was. 

Moonbin smiled. He finally pulled out and kissed Jinwoo softly before climbing off the bed to discard the condom and grab a washcloth. 

Jinwoo relaxed into the bed, still trying to catch his breath. It really had been a long time for him.

Moonbin made sure that Jinwoo was cleaned and had a pair of shorts on before taking care of himself. When he was cleaned and dressed he climbed into bed and gathered Jinwoo in his arms. “I love you so much,” he whispered. 

“I love you too,” Jinwoo murmured. His eyes were locked on his hand, on the glittery ring sitting there. He couldn’t help but think about how much it must have cost and what better things Bin could have used the money on.

Moonbin followed Jinwoo’s gaze down to his hand. “If you don’t like it, we can exchange it for something else,” he said quietly.

“No, it’s beautiful,” Jinwoo said, “it must have cost a fortune.”

Moonbin sighed sadly. “It didn’t,” he assured Jinwoo. Although a fortune to him and a fortune to his fiancé were very different. “I could never put a price on how much I love you anyway.” 

“I know, but you could have saved and put it towards school or another vacation or something,” Jinwoo said. 

Moonbin frowned. “I just wanted you to have something nice,” he mumbled. The ring really didn’t cost that much but he knew it wasn’t worth trying to convince Jinwoo. With a soft sigh, he buried his face in his fiancé’s neck. 

“I have you, don’t I? That’s enough for me,” Jinwoo said softly. 

“You’re such a sap,” Moonbin mumbled. He was starting to feel a little guilty now, but at least the whole world would know Jinwoo was his.

“I can’t get you anything in return,” Jinwoo said quietly, “not yet.”

“All I wanted in return was for you to say ‘yes.’ You don’t have to get me anything,” Moonbin said, “I didn’t do this so you would get me something too.”

“I know, but if I have something to show I’m taken, then I want you to have something too,” Jinwoo said, his possessive side coming out a little bit. 

Moonbin untucked his head. “I’m sure we can figure out something simple for now that will be temporary until you can get what you want,” he said. 

“Nothing is quite as telling as a ring though,” Jinwoo said with a small pout. 

Moonbin kissed Jinwoo’s pout. “We can find a cheap ring that matches yours if you want,” he said. He hadn’t expected Jinwoo to want him to have a ring too. 

“You don’t deserve cheap though,” Jinwoo said, “you deserve the best and the best only.”

“That’s why I have you,” Moonbin said easily, “I don’t need anything fancy, babe, I swear. We’ll find something that matches, but it doesn’t have to be anything crazy.”

Jinwoo sighed but nodded. He didn’t want to fight with Bin. Either way, it wasn’t like he was going to be able to wear the ring all that often anyway. 

“No matter if I have a ring or not I’ll always be yours and there’s no getting rid of me,” Moonbin said. He pulled his fiancé closer and kissed his cheek. 

Jinwoo smiled happily. “I wouldn’t want to anyway.”

“Good,” Moonbin said, stifling a yawn. “So what do you say to round two?” he joked. 

“Oh god, no,” Jinwoo groaned, “it’s gonna take me all week just to recover from round one. I’m an old man, Bin.”

Moonbin laughed quietly. “Is it bed time then, old man?” he asked. 

“Absolutely,” Jinwoo said, “just as soon as I drink my tea and take my pills.”

Moonbin pouted. He didn’t want to let go of Jinwoo, but he knew he had to. “Do you want me to get it for you?” he asked. 

“Did you have a dick up your ass tonight? No? Then yes, you should be getting me my tea,” Jinwoo said. 

“Alright, alright I’m going,” Moonbin said. He scrambled out of bed to go make Jinwoo tea and get his pills. He returned to the bedroom a little while later, both in hand. “Here you are, Your Highness,” he said. 

“Thank you, thank you,” Jinwoo said, finally sitting up. He drank his tea slowly, using it to down his pills. 

Moonbin crawled back into bed. He laid on his side and stared openly at Jinwoo. “I’m the luckiest man in the world,” he murmured.

“Shut up,” Jinwoo mumbled. He set the drink on the nightstand and turned toward Bin.

“Make me,” Moonbin said childishly. “I get to compliment you as much as I want and there’s nothing you can do.”

“I can ignore you,” Jinwoo said, “I’ll just talk to the boys until you stop.”

Moonbin pouted. “You wouldn’t do that,” he said sadly. At least he’d like to think Jinwoo wouldn’t do that.

“Maybe I would,” Jinwoo said, “you don’t know.”

“I would miss you too much. And you would miss me,” Moonbin said. He opened his arms for Jinwoo and continued to pout. 

“I can lay with you and still ignore you,” Jinwoo said. Nonetheless, he settled happily into Bin’s arms. 

Moonbin hummed and tightened his grip on Jinwoo. “That’s true, but you can’t stop me from talking. And I can keep telling you how amazing you are until you fall asleep,” he said. 

“Blah blah blah, I’m not listening,” Jinwoo singsonged, laying with his back against Bin’s chest.

Moonbin chuckled and leaned down so he could whisper in Jinwoo’s ear. “I love you and not even your singing can stop me,” he said. 

Jinwoo brought his hands up to cover his ears. “I can’t hear you, did you say something?” he asked. 

Moonbin rolled his eyes. He pressed kisses against Jinwoo’s arm, sad he couldn’t reach his fiancé’s neck.

Jinwoo shivered as he tried to fend off his fiancé. “Stop it,” he whined. 

Moonbin gave into Jinwoo only because he was absolutely exhausted. Within the next few minutes they were both fast asleep, happily cuddled together. The following morning after a hot shower, they headed off to Dongmin’s to pick up the boys.

The boys had a ton of energy when they got in the car, so Jinwoo suggested bringing them to the park before they headed home. Hopefully, they would wear themselves out a bit. 

Moonbin sat on the bench with Jinwoo while the boys got their energy out. A couple hours later they were heading home with much calmer boys. Now that Sanha and Seongwoo were back with him, he was a lot more nervous to ask them about adopting them. He wasn’t even sure if Seongwoo would understand. 

When they got home, Jinwoo went to make lunch, giving Bin the opportunity to talk to the boys. He knew his fiancé was itching to know. 

Moonbin wrangled the boys into the living room. He sat them down on the couch and felt so guilty about their nervous expressions. “You boys aren’t in trouble,” he assured, “I just have to ask you something.”

Seongwoo didn’t know what to think when Binsam made him and Sanha sit down on the couch for a talk. Even though Binsam said they weren’t in trouble, he wasn’t sure. 

“You know how Jinsam takes care of you and I help him?” Moonbin asked. Both boys nodded. “Well, I want to take care of you just like Jinsam does.” He took a deep breath. “I want to adopt you both, which means I would be able to take care of your forever and ever. Would you like that?” 

Seongwoo frowned. Didn’t Binsam already do all that stuff? He took care of them just as much and just as well as Jinsam, and he had always been there. After all, Jinsam and Binsam were just his and Sanha’s way of saying dad, right?

Moonbin started to get nervous when Seongwoo frowned. “It’s okay, Seongie. You don’t have to say yes. I’ll still help Jinsam all the same,” he assured the boy. 

“But,” Seongwoo said slowly, “you do now. You and Jinsam appas. Right?”

“Kinda. Jinsam is like appa because he gets to take care of everything for you. I just help take care of you. If I adopted you, then I would be your appa. And I could protect you even better,” Moonbin said. Sanha was unnaturally quiet and Moonbin didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. 

“So like now?” Seongwoo asked. He didn’t wait for an answer before giving Binsam his approval and hopping down from the couch to go play. “You’re not my daddy,” Sanha said when Seongwoo was gone, “Jinsam isn’t either.”

Moonbin chewed on his lip. “I know, Sanha, and I never will be, but I still love you a lot. And it’s okay to say no. I won’t be sad and Jinsam won’t either,” he said gently. 

“I don’t want daddy to be mad if he wakes up and he’s not my daddy anymore,” Sanha said tentatively, “is that okay?”

“Of course that’s okay, Sanha,” Moonbin said, “I’ll still be here to take care of you. And your daddy will always be your daddy no matter what happens. I promise.”

“Am I not gonna be daddy’s baby anymore if you ‘dopt me?” Sanha asked quietly. He still always wanted to be his daddy’s son, even if Binnie and Jinsam took care of him. 

“You’ll always be your daddy’s baby,” Moonbin promised, “daddy and mommy will always be your parents and you’ll always be their baby even if I adopt you. Nothing would change except I could take care of you better.”

Sanha nodded. He could live with that. Besides, he liked having Binnie taking care of him. “Okay,” he said finally, “you can ‘dopt me.”

Moonbin was shocked when Sanha agreed. “Are you sure, Sanha? You can’t change your mind until you’re older. But we can wait a little longer now,” he said. He was ecstatic that the boy agreed but he wanted to make sure he was positive. 

“I’m sure,” Sanha said confidently, “like Seongie said, nothing really changes.”

Moonbin smiled widely and opened his arms to hug Sanha. “I promise I’m gonna take good care of you and Seongie and Jinsam forever and ever,” he said. 

Sanha bounced over and hugged Binnie tightly. “I know,” he said simply, “cause you’re the best.”

Moonbin hugged Sanha close. “I’m not the best, but I’m hard to beat,” he said, “alright, I’m sure your brother is itching to play with you.”

Sanha pulled away from Bin, then stopped. “Seongie doesn’t know you and Jinsam aren’t actually his dads?” he asked cautiously. 

Moonbin sighed. “I don’t think so. He’s still young so he doesn’t quite understand. But when he gets a little bit bigger, we’ll make sure to tell him,” he said. 

“I won’t tell him,” Sanha promised, “if you promise to always be good and nice to Jinsam.” He held up a tiny pinky. 

Moonbin hooked his pinky with Sanha. “Of course I’ll always be good and nice to Jinsam. And I’ll be good and nice to you and Seongie too,” he said. 

“Good,” Sanha said seriously, “Jinsam needs good and nice. I’ll kick you if you’re not.”

“Kicking isn’t very nice, now is it?” Moonbin said gently, “but I will always be good and nice to Jinsam. Forever. And I already promised him that I would. That’s why he has the new ring on his hand.”

“If you’re not nice, I won’t be nice,” Sanha said. But now he was confused. Jinsam had a new ring? “I wanna see,” he demanded.

Moonbin chuckled. He supposed that was a fair deal. “Go ask him about it. I’m sure he’d love to show you,” he encouraged.

“Carry me,” Sanha requested, coming back over and wrapping his arms around Binnie’s neck tightly.

“Alright, baby, let’s go,” Moonbin said. He hoisted Sanha into his arms and carried him to find Jinwoo.

Jinwoo was just about done with dinner when Bin appeared, carrying Sanha. “Is everything alright?” he asked. 

“Everything’s great,” Moonbin said with a smile, “Sanha just wanted to see your new ring.”

“Oh!” Jinwoo said with a smile, “sure, kiddo, let me just finish up and wash my hands, Alright? Can you and Binnie go get Seongie in the meantime?”

“Come on, let’s go find your brother and you can both see Jinsam’s ring,” Moonbin said. They found Seongwoo playing in his room and the toddler was not having walking on his own if Sanha was getting carried. And that was how Moonbin ended up carrying both boys back into the kitchen.

Jinwoo snorted when Bin came back into the kitchen, looking like a pack mule. “Boys, go wash your hands,” he said. 

Moonbin was grateful for the opportunity to put the boys down. They were starting to get too heavy for him to carry at the same time. At least it made for a good arm workout. 

The boys rushed off to the bathroom and Jinwoo finished carrying the last couple things over to the table. “How did it go?” he asked. 

“Better than I thought,” Moonbin said, “I don’t think Seongwoo really understands, but he agreed. I’m more surprised that Sanha said yes too. He was worried that if I adopted him I would replace his dad or he wouldn’t be his dad’s son anymore. He even said he didn’t want his dad to be sad if he woke up and he wasn’t Sanha’s dad anymore. I didn’t want to say anything, but I promised that wouldn’t happen and he agreed. And he made me pinky promise to be good and nice to you because you need good and nice.”

Jinwoo shook his head, a fond smile on his face. Sanha already had a little protective streak going and it was adorable. “He’s a good kid,” he said. 

“He really is. And he loves you a lot. He even threatened to kick me if I’m ever mean to you,” Moonbin said with a laugh, “he’s not ever gonna let anything happen to you or Seongie.”

That made Jinwoo laugh. “Well, if you ever make me mad, I guess I know who to tell.”

Moonbin raised his hands in mock surrender. “I don’t think you’ll have to go to  _ that  _ drastic of measures. He wouldn’t return me in one piece,” he joked.

“Maybe you’ll learn your lesson then,” Jinwoo joked. The boys raced back into the room and climbed into their seats. 

Moonbin rolled his eyes. “Did you guys want to see Jinsam’s ring now?” he asked. Both boys nodded eagerly and Seongwoo even stood up on his seat to see better. 

Jinwoo held out his hand, letting the boys see the glittery ring. “You can touch it,” he said when Seongwoo hesitantly reached his hand out. 

Seongwoo used one finger to poke the ring. He giggled quietly. “It’s so shiny!” he said, “Jinsam, I want a ring too.”

Jinwoo glanced up at Bin. “Binnie needs a ring, Seongie needs a ring,” he said, “Sanha, you want a ring too?”

Sanha nodded shyly. “Then I can match with you?” he asked Jinwoo. 

“Sure, we can all match,” Jinwoo said, “me and you and Seongie and Binnie too.”

Seongwoo was much more enthusiastic about the idea, but Moonbin knew Sanha would warm all the way up to it soon. “Come on, boys. Let’s eat,” he said. 

Jinwoo smiled. He was so happy that his little family was finally settling and becoming permanent. He loved all his boys so much. 

“I think tonight’s a good night for a movie night!” Moonbin announced after they finished dinner. “You boys go pick out a movie and we’ll watch it in the big bed after your baths.”

The rest of the night went smoothly. A few days later, Sanha was at school but Jinwoo had the day off, so he took Seongwoo to the park to meet Bin for lunch. 

Moonbin stood up from the bench he was sitting on to greet his boys when they came over. “Hello, loves! How was your morning?” he asked. He gave both of his boys a kiss on the cheek.

“We had a good morning, right, Seongie?” Jinwoo asked. The toddler nodded. He struggled a bit in Jinwoo’s arms, wanting to go play with the kids on the playground. 

“We’ll call you over when it’s time to eat Seongie okay? But for now you can play a little right here,” Moonbin said. He knew the toddler wouldn’t sit with them now. 

Jinwoo let Seongwoo go, watching him run off to the playground. Hopefully, he would find someone to play with. The boy needed more friends. 

Moonbin smiled when Seongwoo sat himself down next to a boy that looked to be about his age. “I can’t believe how big he’s gotten,” he said. 

“He was so tiny when I brought him home,” Jinwoo said, leaning on his fiancé’s shoulder, “it’s amazing how big he is now.”

“I remember I used to be scared to hold him ‘cause I didn’t want to hurt him,” Moonbin recalled fondly, “I don’t know where the time went.”

“You were so nervous with him,” Jinwoo said, “look at you now.”

“I know. I’m practically a professional now,” Moonbin said with a laugh, “I think I’ll be nervous with Sanha forever though.”

“You’re not alone,” Jinwoo said with a laugh, “he was so sick as a kid, even I’m scared sometimes.”

“That was really scary. But even just the little things. I’m worried that if I do one thing wrong he’s gonna hate me forever and want me gone,” Moonbin admitted. 

“Even if he did, we’ll work through it,” Jinwoo said, “I’m not letting either of you go.”

Moonbin smiled softly. “I don’t want to lose either of you,” he said. He turned so he could kiss the top of Jinwoo’s head. 

Jinwoo smiled then sat up when Seongwoo came toddling over with the other boy right behind him. “Jinsam,” he called proudly, “made friend!”

“And what’s your new friend’s name?” Moonbin asked. The little boy was absolutely adorable and had a shy smile on, not really sure what to make of the two new adults. 

“Chan!” Seongwoo announced proudly, “his appas over there!” He pointed at two men approaching them. Jinwoo’s eyes followed his finger and he went absolutely white. 

“Hi, Chan. I’m Moonbin and this is Jinwoo,” he said pleasantly. He glanced up at the two men and then back to Jinwoo. “Babe, is everything okay?” he asked when he caught his fiancé’s expression. 

“Oh yeah, just fine, just ducky,” Jinwoo said, standing up, “Seongie, say bye to Chan, we have to go to lunch now.”

Moonbin turned to look at the men again. He knew Jinwoo was lying but he also knew better than to ask here. “But I don’t wanna go yet!” Seongwoo said. 

“Sorry, baby, but Binsam has to get back to work soon, so we need to go eat now,” Jinwoo said, scooping the boy up and pulling him away from his temporary friend. 

“No, no, Jinsam. Wanna play more! Please, please, please,” Seongwoo begged. He reached out for Moonbin, hoping he would help.

Before they could make their escape, Chan’s parents were upon them. “Hi, I’m Jeonghan and this is my partner Joshua,” one of them said, “we’re Chan’s parents.”

Moonbin smile pleasantly. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Moonbin and this is my fiancé Jinwoo. And this is Seongwoo,” he said.

Jinwoo adjusted his grip on Seongwoo, doing his best not to glare. He didn’t need to start an argument in a public park. 

Moonbin glanced back at Jinwoo and was a little surprised at the expression on his face. “I’m sorry the boys can’t play longer, but I have to get back to work soon,” he said.

“Oh, that’s fine,” Jeonghan said breezily, “here, let me give you my number, maybe we can set up a playdate or something.” 

“That would be great,” Moonbin said. He pulled out his phone and exchanged numbers with Jeonghan. It would be nice for Seongwoo to have a friend to play with like Sanha had Minhyuk. 

“Yes, well, nice to meet you, gotta go, bye,” Jinwoo said once Bin had his phone back. He all but dragged his fiancé out of the park, ignoring Seongwoo’s upset whines at leaving his new friend. “Delete that number,” he said once they got to the car. 

“Delete the number? Why? Seongwoo would be so excited to play with Chan again,” Moonbin said, a little confused. 

“That was my ex,” Jinwoo said, “Joshua or whatever he’s going by now. The one that up and left me and Sanha for dead.”

Moonbin’s blood ran cold. “That...that was him? I’m so sorry, Jinwoo,” he said. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and promptly deleted the number. 

“I want Seongwoo to have friends, but not his kid,” Jinwoo said, “I just can’t handle that. He left me with a six month old baby and no money just to turn around and have a kid less than two years later.”

Moonbin reached over and took Jinwoo’s hand in his own. “We’ll make sure Seongie finds some new friends and you don’t ever have to deal with him again,” he said. He had half a mind to go back to the park and tell Joshua off. 

“I feel bad, his kid and his partner both seem really nice,” Jinwoo said with a sigh, “I wonder if Jeonghan knows.”

“I doubt it. And if he does, I bet it’s far from the truth,” Moonbin said, “but we don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

“I almost want to tell him, but I don’t want to mess up anything for their kid,” Jinwoo said. He didn’t think he would ever see Jisoo again.

“I don’t know if it’s worth it, babe. I’d hate to see you get hurt again,” Moonbin said gently, “all we can hope for is that he treats them how they deserve and that he leaves you alone.”

Jinwoo sighed and nodded. “Let’s just go get lunch,” he said finally. 

Moonbin kept a nervous eye on Jinwoo all throughout lunch. Thankfully, Seongwoo was none the wiser and hopefully it would stay that way. “Do you want me to take a half day and come home with you?” he asked. 

“No, we’ll be fine,” Jinwoo said, “I think I’ll call Jun and see if Minhyuk can come over.”

Moonbin nodded. “I can pick both boys up after school,” he said, “just let me know if I’m getting Minhyuk or not.”

“Yeah, I’ll let you know,” Jinwoo said, “Seongie, say bye to Binsam!”

Moonbin gave Seongwoo a big hug before handing him back to Jinwoo. “You boys have a good afternoon and I’ll see you tonight,” he said. He hated Jinwoo going home alone, but there was nothing he could do. 

Fortunately, Myungjun was more than happy to let Minhyuk come over for the afternoon. Jinwoo texted Bin then helped Seongwoo clean up his and Sanha’s room. 

Moonbin went to pick up both of the boys from school and they were more than happy for a play date. He released them into the apartment, making them promise to include Seongwoo, before going to find Jinwoo. 

Jinwoo was still not sure how he felt about knowing Jisoo was so close. It was weird having him around again. 

Moonbin took one look at Jinwoo and knew his fiance was still feeling off. Wordlessly, he wrapped the older man in a tight hug and held him close. 

Jinwoo relaxed into Bin’s hold. “It’s so weird that he showed up now,” he said. 

“I know. I really thought you wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore. But now that we know we can be more careful,” Moonbin said, “I would threaten to kill him for you so you don’t have to worry, but that might be a little more complicated now. If I knew and we weren’t at a park I probably would have punched him though.”

Jinwoo rolled his eyes fondly and shook his head. “No, I just want to put him behind me,” he said. 

“We can do that too,” Moonbin said. He kissed the top of Jinwoo’s head. “He’s never going to bother you again, I promise.”

“Thanks, babe,” Jinwoo said softly, finally raising his arms to wrap around Bin’s waist. 

“And Seongwoo’s gonna make so many new friends when he goes to school that he’s gonna completely forget about Chan. And there’ll be other parents that we can be friends with too,” Moonbin said supportively.

Jinwoo nodded. He knew that. Seeing Jisoo again had just shocked him a lot. 

Moonbin rubbed Jinwoo’s back soothingly. He really didn’t know what to do to make this better. “I told the boys to be on their best behavior tonight and I can keep an eye on them so you can relax,” he said. 

“Thanks, babe, but I’m really fine,” Jinwoo said, pulling away a little bit, “I was just shocked earlier, that’s all.”

Moonbin sighed and kissed Jinwoo softly. He was more than happy to forget all about seeing Joshua. That was until a few days later at least. He got a text from an unknown number and only the mention of getting Chan and Seongwoo together to play tipped him off that it was Jeonghan. He didn’t think it was a particularly great idea to agree, especially when Jinwoo told him to delete the number, but the boys got along and how bad could it be if Joshua wasn’t involved?

Jeonghan wasn’t surprised that Moonbin never texted him, given the weird energy between his partner and Joshua. However, Chan kept asking about when his new friend was going to come play, so Jeonghan took it upon himself to reach out. 

Moonbin debated telling Jinwoo about the text, but he knew his fiancé would just make him delete it again. Instead he agreed to meet Jeonghan at the park again one evening he knew Jinwoo had a late class. 

Jeonghan was a little surprised that Moonbin had agreed to meet so easily, given the obvious tension before. It made him want to ask Joshua what happened between him and Jinwoo to make the shorter man look at him with such anger. 

Seongwoo was of course thrilled to go to the park to play with Chan. And Sanha would never say no to going to the park. Moonbin was a little nervous about the whole ordeal, and he knew Jinwoo would be furious with him, but he kept reminding himself this was for Seongwoo. And he was going to be sure to explain to Jeonghan what happened. 

Jeonghan couldn’t keep ahold of Chan when the boy saw Seongwoo. He took off across the park to drag his friend over to the sandbox, with Bin gently pushing Seongwoo’s older brother to follow them. “I’m glad we could set this up,” Jeonghan said with a smile as he approached the taller man. 

Moonbin watched the boys run off before turning back to Jeonghan. “Seongwoo was really excited to come,” he said, “although I do want to talk about what happened the other day.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask Shua what happened, but I haven’t had the chance,” Jeonghan said, “I assume the two of them knew each other?”

“That’s putting it lightly,” Moonbin said, “Joshua, well he went by Jisoo when Jinwoo knew him, used to date my fiancé. They were together for a long time, but he up and left Jinwoo in a very tight spot when he first became guardian to our older son, Sanha. Jisoo claimed he didn’t want kids and Jinwoo was not only shocked to see him again, but wasn’t exactly thrilled to see that he somehow changed his mind in less than two years. It’s none of my business how he treats you and Chan, but he wasn’t good to Jinwoo.”

That surprised Jeonghan a lot. Joshua has always loved kids and had been so excited when they decided to adopt a baby. He was so good to Chan. It seemed very out of character for him to do something like that to Jinwoo and Sanha. Jeonghan was speechless. 

“Jinwoo didn’t particularly want the boys together and I don’t mind them being friends as long as this doesn’t turn into a problem. I’m going to be honest, I don’t particularly want to see Jisoo and I know Jinwoo doesn’t either. If the boys want to still see each other and we can keep this civil, I’m fine with meeting you here,” Moonbin said. 

“I’m going to talk to Shua about all of this,” Jeongin finally said, “hopefully, he’ll be honest about it. It might be good to try and get them to reconcile, for the sake of the kids. Chan isn’t particularly great at making friends and it’ll be at least another year until he’s in school.”

“The kids can be friends without Jisoo and Jinwoo having anything to do with each other. I’m not very comfortable with Jinwoo being around Jisoo anyway. I know it’s not up to me, but I really don’t think that’s a good idea,” Moonbin said. 

“I can’t imagine that Jinwoo would be very comfortable with the boys being around Shua though,” Jeonghan pointed out, “or with their parents having a strained relationship while they try to be friends.”

Moonbin was starting to regret agreeing to come. “No, most likely not. But I’m not putting him in this position. I’m just doing this so the boys can have some friends. Nothing more, nothing less. I’m sure we could work out something, but considering Jinwoo didn’t want the boys together at all I’m not quite sure it’ll be much more than just meeting up places here and there,” Moonbin said. 

“And you’re just gonna keep going behind his back to have the boys all meet up?” Jeonghan asked dubiously, “I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to keep that secret for about two hours.”

Moonbin glared at Jeonghan. “Look if you care about Chan having a friend, you’ll stop worrying about things that aren’t your business. You can talk to Jisoo about whatever you want, but Jinwoo wants nothing to do with him and that’s the end of it,” he said, slightly annoyed.

“I’m not trying to shove my nose in anywhere, but I don’t want my kid to get wrapped up in the negative emotional bullshit that’s gonna explode when your boyfriend finds out you’re taking his kids around behind his back,” Jeonghan said.

“Your kid won’t be affected. And neither will you,” Moonbin said tiredly, “don’t worry, I can handle everything just fine. And he’s my fiancé.”

Jeonghan raised his hands in surrender. “Let me know how that works out for you,” he said, “Chan, c’mon! We gotta go home and see daddy!”

Moonbin sighed. Jinwoo was really gonna have his ass for this, especially considering it didn’t go as well as he’d hoped. He took the boys home too and was absolutely not looking forward to the rest of the night. He thought he was doing the right thing by letting Seongwoo keep his friend, but he should have just listened to Jinwoo. 

Jinwoo had had a long day at class. He had messed up his dish, meaning he had to start over and kept both himself and his professor late. By the time he got home, all he wanted to do was eat some fast food and cuddle on the couch with his boys. 

The boys ran over to Jinwoo the moment the apartment door opened. One look at his fiancé’s face told Moonbin that Jinwoo definitely did not have a good day at class. Tonight was not going to go well at all. 

“Hi, babies,” Jinwoo said, stooping to pick up both boys and carefully carry them over to the couch. “How was your day?” “It was great!” Seongwoo cried, “Binsam took us to see Channie!”

Moonbin didn’t even have time to take off his shoes before Seongwoo was rambling about his day. He hadn’t seen the boy this happy in a long time and it stung that he might have ruined Seongwoo’s new friendship before it even started. He stayed by the door waiting for how Jinwoo would react. 

Jinwoo had to take a deep breath to keep from snapping in front of the boys. That would wait until after they were in bed. “Why don’t you guys go get your jammies on?”

The boys made Jinwoo promise they could cuddle and raced down the hall. Moonbin helped both of them with their baths before sending them back to Jinwoo. He didn’t bother to get changed himself. He really didn’t know how Jinwoo was going to react. 

Jinwoo cuddled with both of the boys in the big bed until they both fell asleep, at which point he extracted himself, closed the door, and went to find Bin. 

Moonbin didn’t say anything when Jinwoo walked into the living room. He stood up and waited for his fiancé to rip into him. He didn’t want to have a fight anyway.

“I asked you to do one thing,” Jinwoo said softly, “one  _ fucking  _ thing, and that was to not let my kids near Jisoo, and what did you do?”

“Jisoo wasn’t there,” Moonbin said lamely, “I’m sorry. I just thought it would make Seongwoo really happy. I wasn’t thinking.”

“It doesn’t matter!” Jinwoo said, “you went behind my back, bringing my kids around to see people I  _ specifically said  _ I didn’t want them involved with!”

“It won’t happen again,” Moonbin promised, “I’ll text Jeonghan tomorrow and tell him the boys can’t see each other anymore.”

“I don’t even  _ care _ that you brought them to see Jeonghan and Chan, I really don’t,” Jinwoo said, “it’s the fact that you went behind my back to do it instead of being transparent with me and just asking.  _ I’m  _ the parent here, Bin!”

That stung. A lot. But Jinwoo was right after all. “I thought you would say no and I didn’t want to disappoint Seongwoo,” he admitted quietly. 

“What if something had happened?” Jinwoo demanded, “What if one of them had gotten hurt? Then they’re with an unrelated man somewhere and I, their legal guardian, have no clue where. Do you know how that looks to DCF, Bin?”

“I’m not unrelated,” Moonbin said, “I know I’m only in the process of adopting them, but that counts for something.”

“The state doesn’t see ‘oh, he has the paperwork for adoption sitting on his desk,’” Jinwoo said heatedly, “they see ‘their legal guardian had no idea where they were and they got hurt’ and suddenly I don’t have any kids anymore.”

Moonbin hung his head to try and hide his face. “I get it, I get it. I fucked up. What do you want me to do about it?” he asked. 

“Since you were the one who facilitated all of the boys seeing each other again, you can be the one to explain to them why they can’t see each other anymore,” Jinwoo said, “if you can’t handle making decisions that prioritize their long term safety over their short term happiness, then you’re not ready to be a parent.”

Moonbin took a few steps back from Jinwoo. He was desperately trying to keep it together, but he couldn’t let Jinwoo know that. “I’ll talk to them first thing tomorrow,” he said quietly. 

“I’m going to have Dongmin pick them up and watch them tomorrow,” Jinwoo said, “because I have late class again and I know he won’t try and sneak them around the entirety of Seoul.”

In all their years together, Jinwoo had never not trusted him to watch the boys. It hurt immensely, but at this point, Moonbin just felt numb. “I’ll talk to them whenever I see them then,” he said.

“Good,” Jinwoo said coldly, “go change. You can have the couch until I’m no longer pissed at you.”

Moonbin wordlessly went into the bedroom and grabbed clean clothes for himself. He laid them on the couch for when he got back. He needed to get out of the apartment and the only thing he thought to do was go for a drive. 

Jinwoo wasn’t all that surprised that Bin left. He had said some harsh things. True, yes, but harsh. With a sigh, he collected himself then got back in bed with his boys. “Jinsam?” Sanha asked in a tiny voice when he laid back down, “is Binnie gonna leave?”

Moonbin didn’t even make it out of the parking lot before he broke down. He got himself around the corner and pulled into a commuter lot. He put his arms on the steering wheel and leaned against it, sobbing harshly. Moonbin hadn’t meant to fuck things up this bad. Seongwoo was just so excited to have a new friend and he didn’t want to ruin it for the boy. Well it looked like he had done that anyway. The boy was going to be so upset with him when he told him. But if he was going to start going with Dongmin again then he supposed it was okay if the toddler was mad at him.

“No, baby, Binnie isn’t going anywhere,” Jinwoo assured him, petting his hair, “we just had an argument because Binnie did something today that I asked him not to do that was really unsafe and that made me scared.”

Moonbin couldn’t pull himself together. Everytime he was close to calming down, something else sent him back down the rabbit hole. He couldn’t go back to the apartment like this, but he also couldn’t stay the night in his car. A small part of his brain wondered if Jinwoo and the boys would be gone when he got back and he started to cry harder.

“You yelled at him a lot,” Sanha whimpered and Jinwoo sighed. “I did,” he said, “and I’m going to apologize when he comes home because even though he did something bad, I shouldn’t have yelled like that. It’s better to talk things out and get all the sides instead of just yelling and not listening.”

Moonbin finally, finally stopped crying long enough to drive himself back to the apartment. He made his way up to the apartment as quietly as he could. Not even bothering to change, he curled up in a ball on the couch to wait for his alarm for work.

Sanha refused to go back to sleep until he was sure that Binnie was home. When Jinwoo heard the door, he left the boys in bed and padded out to the living room. “Hey,” he said as he sat down next to Bin, “I’m sorry I was so harsh. I know you were just trying to do something nice for the boys.”

“It’s fine, Jinwoo. You were right and I’ll talk to Seongwoo and get this all fixed,” Moonbin mumbled tiredly. He pulled the blanket up higher so it was tucked under his chin.

“No, you’re right,” Jinwoo said, “my issues with Jisoo shouldn’t get in the way of Seongwoo’s ability to have friends his own age. He can keep seeing Chan. My one stipulation is that I just don’t want him alone with Jisoo. Him or Sanha.”

“Whatever you want to do. I want nothing to do with this anymore,” Moonbin said quietly, “all the decisions to do with the boys are up to you. I’m sorry I stepped on your toes and it won’t happen again.” 

“You did step on my toes, quite a bit,” Jinwo acknowledged, “but you were just trying to be a good dad and I can respect your intentions. C’mon, let’s go to bed.”

“I’m fine out here tonight,” Moonbin said. He rolled over, facing the back of the couch. He wasn’t the boys’ dad, and while he wished this didn’t happen, he needed the reminder.

“Sanha’s not gonna fall asleep if you’re not in there,” Jinwoo said softly, “he heard us fighting and he was scared you weren’t going to come back.”

Moonbin sighed sadly. Of course Sanha heard them arguing. Of course tonight was the one night he all of a sudden needed Moonbin to fall asleep. Moonbin pushed himself up from the couch and snagged his clothes from the floor. Once he had gotten changed, he trudged into the bedroom.

Jinwoo climbed back into bed and settled between the boys. He left enough space between himself and Sanha for Bin to fit and kept a secure hold on Seongwoo. 

Moonbin carefully moved Sanha closer to Jinwoo and laid down on the edge of the bed. He was not looking forward to the restless night ahead.

Sanha whined tiredly when he was moved and clung to Bin tightly. “Don’t go,” he whimpered. 

Moonbin sighed. “Get some sleep, Sanha, I’m not going anywhere,” he whispered. 

Sanha continued to cling but did eventually fall asleep. Jinwoo didn’t find that task quite so easy. He couldn’t stop thinking about all the what if’s. He reached out and carefully took Bin’s hand in his own. 

Moonbin was surprised when Jinwoo took his hand. He didn’t pull his hand away, but he couldn’t bring himself to hold his fiancé’s hand back. He was still overwhelmed and didn’t know what to make of the situation. 

“I love you,” Jinwoo whispered, “and it makes me so happy that you do the absolute most for the boys. You’re a really good dad, Bin.”

Moonbin turned his head away from Jinwoo. “Please don’t.” he whispered desperately, “I’m not their dad and I never will be. It’s okay.”

“You already are,” Jinwoo said softly, “at the very least, Seongwoo will never see you as anything else.”

“That’s because he doesn’t know better. And I’m sure he won’t feel that way after I talk to him tomorrow. But it’s fine, Jinwoo. I’m okay with this. I needed to hear this,” Moonbin said. 

“You don’t have to talk to him,” Jinwoo said, “actually, I think you should talk to Jeonghan about setting up an actual play date for the boys.”

“I’ll give you his number and you can talk to him if that’s really what you want,” Moonbin said, “I already told you I don’t want to be involved in this anymore.”

“No,” Jinwoo said, gently but firmly, “this was your endeavor to make the kids happy and you should see it through. This is your family too and I’ll be damned if I let you fall secondary.”

“You need to make up your mind and stick to it,” Moonbin said tiredly, “I feel guilty enough that I put the boys in danger and I readily agreed to your new terms and now you’re pulling them back. Figure it out and talk to me about what you actually want once you’ve slept on it and aren’t getting guilt tripped by your son.”

Jinwoo sighed. He knew his mind wouldn’t change but he also knew Bin wouldn’t listen to him right now, so he carefully shifted Seongwoo in next to his brother and dropped his fiancé’s hand. 

Moonbin pulled his hand back and detached Sanha from his side. He debated going back to the couch, but at this point he was too tired to get up.

Sanha whined and reattached himself. There was no way he was letting Binnie get away from him. He refused to let anyone else leave him. 

Well that settled that. Moonbin draped his arm over his eyes and laid there, waiting for his alarm to go off. He was already dreading the meltdown that would happen when he had to leave Sanha so he could go to work.

Jinwoo didn’t sleep very well. He was too worried about Bin and too guilty over some of the things he had said. The last thing he wanted was his fiancé feeling like he had no say when it came to their children. 

Their argument last night replayed itself over and over in Moonbin’s head until his alarm went off. He reached over to shut it off. Once he detached Sanha from his side, he scurried from the room, not wanting to get involved in the possible breakdown. 

Sanha woke up with a whine when he was jostled. Yawning and rubbing his eye, he carefully got out of the big bed and wobbled around until his found Jinwoo. He latched onto the man’s legs with a whine and promptly fell back asleep again his thigh. 

Moonbin bustled around the apartment as quietly as possible before finally making it out the door. He was a little late, but thankfully his boss was happy to let him stay late to make up the time. He’d rather do that then go home to an empty apartment anyway.

Jinwoo texted Bin around noon, making sure his fiancé would still be able to pick the boys up at the end of the day. He himself wouldn’t be home until a little later and he didn’t want to call in Dongmin unless absolutely necessary. 

Moonbin was a little confused by Jinwoo’s message. “I can’t today, I have to stay late. I thought they were going to Dongmin’s?” he replied. 

“No, I haven’t talked to him yet,” Jinwoo replied, “I would rather they go with you if possible.”

Moonbin sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. “I already told my boss I could stay ‘cause I got in late. If Myungjun or Dongmin won’t take them, then send Sanha to the community center and I’ll get them both when I’m done,” he replied.

Jinwoo sighed. Moonbin was really making this so much harder on himself. “Myungjun’s out of town and Min’s working overnight,” he replied, “I guess I’ll just skip class.”

“No, go to class. I’ll get them,” Moonbin replied simply. He could just take his work home and stick the boys in front of the TV while he caught up.

“Seongie had a bit of a sniffle this morning, so please try and send him to bed early,” Jinwoo requested before packing his phone away and heading into class. 

“Will do,” Moonbin replied. At the end of the day, he went to pick up the boys and unsurprisingly Sanha wouldn’t let him out of his sight much less his grip. He got the boys fed and bathed and set Sanha up with a movie while he tried to coax Seongwoo to sleep. 

Jinwoo got out late again, but this time it was for a good reason. His professor had pulled him aside and offered him an apprenticeship in his kitchen once the semester finished. He was floating on air by the time he got home. 

Seongwoo was asleep in his bed, Sanha was on the couch watching his movie, and Moonbin was sitting at the kitchen table catching up on his work when Jinwoo got home. He had leftovers on a plate in the microwave already to go and the only thing Jinwoo needed to do for Sanha was tuck him in. 

“Hi, baby,” Jinwoo greeted Sanha, ruffling his hair. He proceeded through to the kitchen, greeting Bin with a kiss to his head and grabbing the food from the microwave. 

Moonbin glanced up at Jinwoo. “How was class?” he asked. Something good must have happened because his fiance seemed to be in a really good mood.

“It was good,” Jinwoo said, turning on the oven to heat the food properly, “my professor offered me an apprenticeship.”

Moonbin sat up straighter. “That’s awesome. I’m really happy for you,” he said supportively, “when does it start?”

“When the semester ends,” Jinwoo said, “he said it’ll be compensated and there may be an official position at the end of it.”

“That’s great! I hope it all works out,” Moonbin said, “we should do something to celebrate when Seongwoo’s feeling better.”

“Yeah, how was he tonight?” Jinwoo asked. He slid the food into the oven and sat down. 

“He was fine. Sniffly like you said and a little less energetic than usual. He went to bed fine though so hopefully he sleeps through the night,” Moonbin said. 

Jinwoo nodded. He stood up when the oven went off and collected his food. “I meant what I said in bed last night,” he said when he sat back down.

Moonbin sighed and closed his laptop. “I’ll text Jeonghan tomorrow and set up an actual play date for the boys,” he said, “and I’m not mad. What you said just caught me a little off guard, but I’m good now.” He just wanted to put all of this behind them and move forward. 

“I’m sorry I was so split last night,” Jinwoo said, “I really reacted without thinking. You tried to do something nice for the boys and, as their dad, you have the right to do that.”

“You’re right though. I should have talked to you first. I can’t make decisions for the boys until I actually have legal guardianship,” Moonbin said, “I don’t blame you for being mad. And if you’re not comfortable with Seongwoo seeing Chan, that’s okay. I’m sure he can make a new friend just as quickly.”

“I’m fine with Seongie seeing Chan,” Jinwoo said, “it’s Jisoo I have a problem with.”

“I told Jeonghan very explicitly that both you and I want nothing to do with Jisoo. He suggested you two trying to resolve what happened for the boys, but I don’t like that idea at all,” Moonbin said. 

“I don’t either,” Jinwoo said slowly, “but I think it might be the right thing to do. Plus, I want to know what the fuck happened.”

“If you want to talk to him, that’s up to you. I don’t want anything to do with him, but as long as you and the boys are happy, I’ll do anything,” Moonbin said. 

“I just don’t want there to be that tension between us if the boys end up staying friends,” Jinwoo said. He’d forgive Jisoo in a heartbeat for the boys. 

“I just don’t want to see you get hurt again,” Moonbin said, “but if you want to at least be civil for the boys, that’s fine. Whatever is best for all of you is good for me.”

“Let me know whenever the next play date is and I’ll tag along,” Jinwoo said, “now, I’m gonna go put my baby to bed.”

Moonbin nodded. He opened his laptop again and got back to work. Thankfully, he didn’t have that much more to finish. 

Sanha was passed out on the couch when Jinwoo walked in. He turned the TV off and carefully scooped the boy up, carrying him to his bed. Sanha whined when he was laid in bed, but didn’t wake up. 

Moonbin made a mental note to take a shower in the morning, not wanting to risk waking up the boys. He finished his work and put his laptop away before going to stretch out on the couch. 

Once Sanha was securely tucked in bed, Jinwoo changed and went to join Bin on the couch. “How was work today?” he asked, laying down alongside his fiancé. 

Moonbin gently wrapped an arm around Jinwoo so he wouldn’t fall off the couch. “It was alright. I didn’t really get a lot done, but my new boss is a lot more understanding and flexible,” he said. 

“That’s good,” Jinwoo said, “I’m glad your late nights will at least be late nights at home instead of in the office.”

Moonbin hummed. “It’s definitely a nice change of pace. I’m sure there’ll be days I’m stuck at the office, but definitely not as often anymore,” he said. 

Jinwoo could live with that. “I really am sorry about last night,” he said after a minute, “I majorly overreacted.”

“Jinwoo, it’s okay,” Moonbin said soothingly, “you weren’t wrong. I’m not mad and Sanha definitely won’t remember this.”

“I hope not,” Jinwoo mumbled. The last thing he wanted was the kids hearing them fight. 

“He was a little clingy tonight, but he forgot all about it when I put the movie on. The kids are gonna be fine,” Moonbin said, “and so are we.”

“We’re gonna be fine,” Jinwoo repeated, “we really are, aren’t we?”

Moonbin nodded. “I’m not gonna lie, yesterday hurt, but I want to move passed it. I love you a lot Jinwoo. And I never want to do anything to hurt you or the boys,” he said. 

“I love you too,” Jinwoo said. He tipped his head up so he could kiss Bin gently. 

Moonbin tightened his grip on Jinwoo and kissed him back. He pulled away after a moment and hid his face. “I thought I lost you,” he admitted shakily, “I thought you and the boys were gonna be gone when I got back.”

“Never,” Jinwoo said firmly, “no matter how bad we fight, I’m not going anywhere. It’s you and me for good.”

Moonbin smiled. “I’m gonna be a better fiancé and a better dad from now on. I promise,” he said. 

“You’re already amazing,” Jinwoo said, “just keep being my Binnie, okay?”

Moonbin untucked his head so he could look at Jinwoo properly. “I’ll always be yours. Forever and ever,” he promised, “I love you so much, Jinwoo. You and the boys. And no matter what happens, I’ll always be here for all of you.”


End file.
